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DI5TRICWC0LVABIA 




MEMOIR 



OP 



WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 



BY 



FRANCIS WINTHROP PALFREY. 




, . 



BOSTON: 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY. 

GTbe Etoerfit&e Presfi, Cambrtfcfff . 
1881. 



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Bt BOI QIITON, OSGOOD :Pa.n'V. 

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I 
D. C. PuWic Library 



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Public Library, 

RECEIVED, 

112 1203' 



\\ :on,D.O, 

MEMOIR 



OF 



WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 



William Francis Bartlett was born at Ha- 
verhill, Massachusetts, on the sixth clay of June, 
1840. He was the son of Charles L., Bartlett and 
of his wife Harriott (Plummer) Bartlett. He 
was the grandson of the Honorable Bailey Bart- 
lett, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and of his great- 
grandfathers one was present at the siege of Lou- 
isburg, and another was an officer in the Third 
Massachusetts Regiment in the Revolutionary 
War. At the beginning of the year 1861 he wua 
a member of the Junior Class in Harvard Col- 
lege. He was not a close student, and perhaps a 
little young for his years. He was rather fond 
of billiards, suppers, college clubs, and the society 
of young ladies, and very fond of skating, boat- 
ing, novels, and the theatre. In person he was 
tall, straight, and slender, with a certain air of re- 
serve and dignity of carriage which corresponded 



2 

with 1 undeveloped i Flu 

health was excellent, as ii had been from 1 
liesl childhood. His political sympathies inclu 

ithern side On thi I Janu 

wrote a theme in which he maintained tl. 
demands of the South were jnst — thai 
manded only her rights under the ( ution; 

and in his journal, under date of January 1". 
wri \n«l then to think that .-ill thea 

L;i\ ;i from the interference of the North." 

Three months later, when the question of 
the war was presenting itself, he writ 
aid be fighting rather t my prin 

since T have stuck up for the South all 
We Bhall b< 

On ih«' 1th of January he had his first drill, 
under Sergeant T. G-. St< renson, afterwards Gen- 

nson, the gallant >r who was ki 

nt Spottsylvania, while commanding a Di 
of the Ninth Corps. On the 17th of April, I 
Bame day on which he wrote the nee ah 

"fighting against his principles," 1 

nth Battalion of Massacho Volunt 

Militia. < ro the 24th of the Bame month, I 
present at a meeting of the battalion, at which 
was ; t" accept the proposal thai it should 

garrison one of the forts in ; i Harbor. Opin- 

ions changed and decisions were formed rapidly 

ill these d;i 

On Thursday, the 26th of April, 1861, the 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 3 

Fourth Battalion went to Fort Independence, 
Boston Harbor, under the command of Stevenson, 
already commissioned as captain, and in ten days 
more promoted to the rank of major. Bartlett 
went with it, and remained with it there, with the 
exception of a two days' leave, till it returned to 
Boston on the 25th of May. He thought he did 
not enjoy his life at the fort, while he was there, 
but on his return he wrote : " What have I gained 
during the last month ? I have learnt more mil- 
itary than I could have learned in a year in the 
armory or from books I value the knowl- 
edge acquired in the last month more highly than 
all the Greek and Latin I have learned in the 

last year I look back on the past month 

as one of the pleasantest and most useful that I 
remember." The martial fever was already seiz- 
ing him. He returned to college when the Bat- 
talion was dismissed, at the expiration of its tour 
of garrison duty, but he gave much time thence- 
forth to drills, parades, and other military matters. 
On the 20th of June he writes : " It is reported 
that an order has come for ten more regiments. 
I hope it is so." 

His stay at Fort Independence had done more 
for him than he knew. The serious, faithful, and 
intelligent manner in which he had striven to 
learn and do a soldier's duty there, had attracted 
the attention of a person who was able soon after 
to give him the opportunity of entering the mili- 



4 Ml • \M FBI ' I. 

i;ir\ Ben ice of the United 8 ■■ itb a ^ery bi 

commi »ung a man. In June, 1 B61 . 

( lolonel William Raymond Lee \\ 
raj Twentieth Regime] 

\ i lunteer [nfantiy, and to Dominate hia field and 
stall" officers, and tin- line officers of two compa- 
nies. He offered the place of lieutenant-colonel 
to the writer of this memoir, and, as hi 
rach thai he had little acquaintance among the 
ng men of the period, he asked him >m- 

mend suitable persons for the captaincies and 
lieutenancies at his disposal. Bartlett had been 
under the writer mand much or all of I 

time passed at the fort, and I de upon him 

the favorable impression before alluded to. In 
tlettn journal we find the followh 
ries in relation t<> what followed: — 

u Friday, June 28. Palfrey came ap to d the 

anion, and said he had recen ed th< I . 
nel'a oommi&sioD of the Twentieth Regiment; thai 
had I commi il, and a 

I wanted one. I replied in the affirmative ■ 
a compliment, hia coming and aakii 
bo many b him for them." 

ay, July I. Palfrey came to me and 
•Charley 1' baa been offered the adjutant 1 

for the Twentieth Regiment. It' he • I it. 

would you Like it?' I waa rather taken aback. I told 
him I would accept it if he thought me capable >f quali- 
fying myaelffor it. II. - ,'d he thought I v, 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 5 

" Thursday, July 2. Received a note from Palfrey. 
I have been appointed captain." 

The news of his appointment must have spread 
rapidly, for in his journal of the very next day, 
he records the names of numerous applicants for 
commissions under him. On the 5th of July, he 
set out upon his first recruiting expedition. For 
a few days after, he was busily occupied in re- 
cruiting, and on the 16th of July, he slept for the 
first time in the camp of the Twentieth Regiment 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, at Readville. 
He records in his journal that he slept on the 
ground, as his men had no straw. He had recom- 
mended as his first and second lieutenants George 
N. Macy and Henry L. Abbott, and they had 
been appointed and commissioned accordingly. 
Recruiting was slow and difficult at this time, as 
the regiments with lower numbers had exhausted 
the first enthusiasm of the community, but his 
company made steady gains in numbers, and its 
material was exceptionally good. 

The field and staff officers of the Twentieth 
Regiment received commissions dated July 1, 
and the commissions of the line officers were 
d July 10. It was, therefore, determined 
that the regimental rank of the line officers 
should be arranged in accordance with the esti- 
mate formed of their soldierly capacity and effi- 
ciency after a trial of five or six weeks, and the 



6 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM i / / 

I ordered tl itenant-colonel, Mi 

:m<l Adjutanl ther, and 

the result to him. In 
under this order, Captain Bartletl 
Beni < • in, and he and mpany fchi 

upon took the ri the Lis 

( >n the 4th i bember, L861, th< 

left the Stale I; passed through New York, 
Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to Wj 
where it made a Bhori Btay, and by Sunday, the 
15th of September, it had marched Bome thi] 

up the Potomac, and wi I in 

what proved to be its home for many montl 
ap Benton, between Poolesville and Edwar 
ry. tin- Latter being a crossing i 
ma<- aear the Virginia town of Leesburg. 

The regiment had been hurried from the 
in consequence of one of the scares which w< 
not uncommon at that time, when it was only 
about two thirds full. It was well red, in 

the main, and was rapidly getting in ely 

good condition. It was brigaded with the N; 
teenth Massachusetts, the Seventh Michigan, and 
the Forty-second New York, commonly called 
the Tammany Regiment. The force was under 
the command of General Lander, and formed the 
Third Brigade of what was then known as the 

Corps of ( >1 on, a Division of twelve r. 

ments of infantry, one of cavalry, and four I 
teries, commanded by General Stone. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 7 

In the five weeks of pleasant autumn weather 
which followed the arrival of the regiment at 
Poolesville, Captain Bartlett was occupied in 
learning his duty as an officer in active service, 
and in teaching his men, with the aid of his two 
efficient lieutenants, to perform theirs. Besides 
company and battalion drills, guard duty, and 
the usual camp routine of a regiment in the field, 
the regiment had its share of grand guard and 
outpost duty, and Captain Bartlett was zealous, 
intelligent, and faithful on whatever duty he was 
sent. The following letters were written by him 
during this period. 

Thave let one of my men copy this out of my journal, 
which I wrote after we got here Sunday night. Part 
of it was a letter to Ben. I am well and comfortable. 

Camp Foster, September 15, 1861. 
After three days' continual marching, we have ar- 
rived at the most magnificent spot I ever saw. To go 
back : I last wrote home from Camp Burnside, near 
Washington. We received orders on the 12th to move 
immediately across the river. We had heard firing all 
the day before, and every one was on the qui vive. We 
had tents struck, baggage packed, and knapsacks slung, 
and had reached the foot of the hill on which our camp 
was pitched, when an aide-de-camp of General Lander 
rode up at full speed, and asked for the Colonel. I 
directed him, and in a moment the word came down the 
line, "Column halt!" The order for crossing the river 
siere had been countermanded, and we were ordered to 



8 OF WILLI A M I / P. 

[lie, uj> thi 

1 op th< 

I. It v. hot lint DOt dusty. W 

nine over an uneven id at nighl 

he Btarlil Bki< -. The n iter n hoi- 

loi b of our blankets in the morning, and the dew-di 
glistened on our noses and hair in tli-' rising Bun. 

■ cold and never rose □ & v7e 

fell in for the march about half past nine. I ty it 

unt of a fresh b from tl 

I led the column at a smart step until the ( 
op and Baid that the men were complaining of li 
march I . and asked for an - it. W< 

We marched <>n through a hilly con 
some mil* s, when we struck off the main i left 

for Rocki ille. [tu more ]ik<- my i 

my "ti the march, now fording a Bhallow 
ami now climbing a long, steep, and rocky hill. B 
the head of the column, I could look I 
bed the top, and Bee the bay< i i do* n 

narrow road until the rear was lost in a cloud 

\\. 1 two in ide of K"!v\ ill'' for di 

which c I of hard bread and Ball meat from our 

haversacks. The men have an idea that we liv< 
than th ■ are, but in many c 

do not fare bo well. Alter a Bhorl 11 in at 

beat of tin- drum, and struck Muddy Branch at sun- 
down, j through Etockville under 
Union In talking with natives here tl 
itrong Union, but this one and that 
art ii. 

We bii ou icked at Muddy Branch, on 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 9 

where lying on the ground brought you to almost a per- 
pendicular position. It was very wet before morning. 
The sensation is a new and not altogether unpleasant 
one, of opening your eyes and seeing the stars above 
you. Saturday morning we received orders from Gen- 
eral Lander to take extra precautions, as the rebel cav- 
alry had crossed the river in great numbers, and were 
intending to cut us off with our large baggage train and 
ammunition. 

An advanced guard of picked men of Company I 
was sent forward under my command, with ten rounds 
of ball cartridges, rifles loaded and capped. Caspar 
Crowninshield, being second Captain, was given com- 
mand of the rear guard, with an equal number of men. 
The regiment had cartridges distributed, but were not 
allowed to cap their pieces. We left Muddy Run at 
ten, with a faint hope in my mind of meeting anything 
like rebel cavalry, but the men were quite elated at 
the idea of having: a brush. We had to halt several 
times to make the streams fordable for the wagons, and 
halted without adventure at Seneca Creek, six miles 
from Poolesville, for the noonday rest and meal. 

We passed on our march within a mile of Gordon's 
regiment, which is in camp near the road, and saw 
Lieutenant Morse of the same. During our halt, Cap- 
tain Abbott, Little's 1 brother, rode up, having heard of 
our approach. Of course we were glad to see him. 
All the fellows of their reiriment are well and sent love. 

1 Li and elsewhere, is Henry L. Abbott, the accom- 

plished officer who was killed in the Wilderness in May, 1864, 
as Major of his regiment. The story of his life is told in the 
Hcurvard Mi mortal Biographies. 



LO WILLIAM 

I R V9 oi ignal du( 

1 . ■ -I A.bb "ii with u- m ben 

marched, as far m Pool< 

this place is imperceptible, until j 
I »• f in the di \\ li;it appear 1 >uda in 

the western horizon. They do not seem to chang 
shape, and you recognize them Boon as mountains, the 
famous Blue Ridge of Virginia. Bui wl. 
prising, you find yourself on :i mountain, and I 

1 valley of some Bixty or 
which tip' Potomac runs. Imagine y< un- 

inir of Mount Washington, or higher it' \ 
then have the summit stretched out into a fla 
land of fifty Bqoare miles, with nothing to obstruct 
horizon, and you 1. it position and 

We were thousands <<4" C 1 
the Bea, and Btill on every Bide it was y level 

until your eye Btretch< surrounding 

and 1 m the blue hills beyond. Tow< rh _ 

the others was the famous Suj if ."Mountain, t 

le Bnmmit the Bignal fires tell the numbers and 
of the i 
The scenery was appreciated even by the tired men, 
and exclamations of surprise won! mally 1 

1 the ranks. Our bivouac h< 
Burpassed all others. W"e are bo high that very li 
dew falls, our blankets being only damp in the morni 
ami the air is so invigorating that a person is inclined to 
be pleased with everything. Although thit our 

third day on the march, and we had 1 irther than 

»n any other day, the men were in better spirits and 
•vally not so tired as on the night of our first bivouac. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 11 

The river is but four miles from here, and our pickets 
there exchange shots daily with the rebels. To-day- 
one of ours was killed. Sometimes the pickets will 
make friendly advances to each other across the river, 
and leaving their arms will meet half way on the ford, 
and chat in the most friendly manner. In one case 
they exchanged a Boston Journal for a Mobile paper. 
We have seen nothing of the Rebel cavalry, and before 
stacking I ordered the guns to be uncapped. 

September 15, Sunday, we had looked forward to as 
a day of rest, literally, but at eleven we were ordered to 
have dinner as early as possible, as we must start again 
for a new camping ground two and a half miles nearer 
the river. The sun was broiling. I picked up a tin 
currlying in the sun, without thinking, and dropped it 
as though it was red. I believe if my hand had been 
wet, it would have sizzled. We fell in at two, and pass- 
ing the advanced regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, de- 
scended from our table-land towards the river, and are 
now in advance of everything in this direction. We 
have the post of honor. In the first advance into Vir- 
ginia, our regiment, having the right of the brigade, 
leads ; Company I, having the right of our regiment, 
also leads. The Minnesota regiment which is to sup- 
port us is the same that behaved so well at Bull's Run, 
and was the last to leave the field, and in good order. 

The Colonel considers it a great compliment, placing 
his regiment so well in advance. But we compare in 
appearance and drill certainly with any that I have 
\ieen since I left home. We reached our final camp 
ground about four o'clock, have got our camp laid out, 
9ur tents pitched, and guard mounted, and hope to stay 



L2 M WILL! 

hen lin on our drill, i 

which must have Loaf something from oar lat<- irn 

\ _ ide is full, v 

ably go "u picket duty on the river, which thej 
quit having just enongh dangi take it 

iting. A whole company is detailed 
Dumber of days, perha] k, when it by 

I will write at the first opportunity, 
-ome of in v adventures and experience on 
The Colonel was dowa at the river to-day with ( 
era] Stone, and got one of our pickets to make advai 
to bia aeighbor opposite, and draw him into conve 
tion across the river. They kept in the back-ground, 
ami listened to the dialogue, which of course wasn't in 

hisper. The rebel said they bad but two or t! 
hundred cavalry th< re, and only one or two battel 
Of course their information goes for what i rth. 

Bui it Beems rather laughable, the whole thins. I 
impossible for me to realize that we are so n< 

my. I Bhall, perhaps, when I hear a bullet whi 
by my head. 

I have written a good deal, considering we hs 
on the march for the last four days, but I do not feel 
tired in the least; the men are somewhat used up, it 

being their first march, but they have bI 1 il veil, 

ially my company. I haven't had on< 
J must Btop, not for want of matter but for I 
die. The air of the tent feels dote and uncomfort- 
able after ii\in:_ r bo long in the open air. 

My next may be dated from the " Banks of the 
Potoms 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 13 

Headquarters Twentieth Regiment Mass. Volunteers, 
Camp Benton, Edwards' Ferry, Md. 

September 24, 18R1. 

Dear Mother: — 

September 25, 9 A. M. I had just sat down to write a 
long letter last eve. (my first opportunity for a week), 
when an orderly from General Lander brought me writ- 
ten orders to take command of a detachment for service 
down at the river. So I had to stop just where I was. 
I was disappointed, because I had made up my mind to 
seize this my first spare eve., and do nothing else but 
write. 

I received five letters to-day from home, dated the 
21st, 20th, 18th, 17th, and 16th, respectively. They 
have been lying in "Washington. Also a Boston paper, 
17th. There are so many questions in each one, that it 
would be useless to try and answer them separately, so 
I will continue my story from where I left off. 

I was in command of a battalion of three companies 
and a section of the Third R. I. Battery, in an advance 
position on the banks of the Potomac. I also had with 
me a detachment of thirty sharpshooters under Captain 
Saunders. I was recalled with my command Saturday 
night, and marched home in a drenching rain six miles. 

The last night I was there I suspected an attack. I 
doubled the guards, set an extra picket of sharpshooters 
on the shore of the river, and made every man in the 
command sleep on his gun with all his equipments on. 
I was up all night, round the camp and down at the river. 
We could see the lights of the pickets just across the 
river. About midnight, one of the boats on this side 
got loose and float* d off. I had to strip and swim after 



1 I MEMOIR 

it. | that tim< ' • 1 did 

.1 
he enemy. 1 13 don n audi • l m. 

and Blept an hour <>r 1 •• 

Th( ' the 

rive.- h camp. Sunday I ! 

. lia\ ing been with >ul it for bo I01 

at half-pasl 1 march for the river, ii 

tion having been received that the rebels had • 
in t ay np. I put in command 1 

battalion of three companies, and ordered to 
the ferry, and ■' ip the tow path of tl 

four miles. I marched them at Bingle file, 
J marched ahead with a few sharpshooters. We bi- 
vouacked "ii the path, \\ I halted. I 

morning. We returned to camp by day- 
Light, without having a skirmish. That night, W 
day, I got Borne Bleep. As I said 1 . i 

to v night, Tii' But at 

den to foil in. I received command of 1 

the regiment, all that wi I 

tool. tnant Abbott as aide-de-camp. We 1 

quick time to the ferry. Then I Bent Captaii 
let! ap the tow path four miles with two compai 
and retaiued three with me. I formed my detachment 
into a hollow Bquare, Btacked the gui 
and lot the men lie down where tbej [slept 

the floor of a '1 double-roomed house which I 

made headquarti rs. I went I , having a Benti 

tSt alarm. I 

by intervals till four a. u., wh< I theca] 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 15 

their companies under arms. I left before sunrise, and 
got back to camp at reveille. Reported at headquarters, 

and then lay down for a nap. T then thought that I 
ought to write, and have put off sleeping until night, 
when ten to one 1 may be sent off again on some mid- 
night expedition. Yesterday I acted colonel, and re- 
ceived the dress parade. This is the first time I have 
ever had it. It would have looked queer at Readville 
to see me taking dress parade and have all the officers 
march up and salute me ; but it comes more natural after 
having these captains under my command so many times. 

We shall have a mail carrier soon, so that we may get 
our letters more punctually. I am afraid my trunk is 
jroino- to weiffh too much according to the new orders. 
If it does, I shall have to send it home and get another 
one, a kind of camp trunk, price $8.00 ; then you can 
send me anything you wish, if it doesn't take up room, 
or is anything to eat. We live on hard bread and salt 
meat, and coffee or tea. But I don't care for anything 

e. I suppose I could buy pies and such things if I 
wanted. I drill the men now almost altogether as skir- 
mishers. 

On Monday, the 21st day of October, 1861, lie 
was engaged in the battle of Ball's Bluff, at 
which his company and five other companies of 
the regiment, all under the command of Colonel 
Lee, were present. It is not proposed to give in 
this memoir detailed descriptions of the battles in 
which the subject of it took part, but his own 
report of his proceedings, and a letter to his 
mother, written a few days after, are inserted here. 



I'i 1/ //'. 

1 ! — 

G m i: \l.. — I ha 

i»t' the Twentieth Regimi 
Harrison's) island on Monday mornii 
Bnppoit the detachment of the Fifteenth an 
retreat We climbed the Bteep bank, one hundi 
fifty feel high, with difficulty, and took post on tl 
of the op< d sending 

tions. The detachment of tl I ntieth c d oi 

two companies, I and I), in all one hundred and I 
men, under command of < lolonel L 
A little after daylig ant Riddle of I 

brought in. shot through the arm I' 
of the enemy on the right 

\- 8 a. if., a Bplendid volley was heard from thi 
ion of the Fifteenth (who had advanced hall 
up tlic road leading from the river), and soon woui 
men were brought in towards the river. W( 
deployed by Colonel L< e as skirmishers, on each sid< 
the road mentioned, leaving an opening for th< i 
to pass through in retreat They fell back i 
order at about 10 \. m. At 11. the i 
the Fifteenth arrive. 1 from the island, and I 

with his command moved inland again. 
time the remaining men of the Twentieth, under Major 
ere, joined us. Major Revere had during the morn- 
brought round from the i ad a 
small souw, the only means of transportation, 
the whale boat holding a and the two skiffs hold- 
ing lour and five respectively, with which we 1 in 
the morning. At 2 o'clock, the detachment ,er's 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 11 

Brigade and the Tammany Regiment had arrived, and 
Colonel Baker, who disposed the troops under his com- 
mand. The three hundred and eighteen men of the 
Twentieth were in the open space, the right up the 
river ; the Fifteenth were in the edge of the woods on 
the right a part of the California (Baker's) Regiment 
on the left, touching at right angles our right. 

One company of the Twentieth under Captain Put- 
nam was deployed as skirmishers on the right in the 
woods, one under Captain Crowninshield on the left. 
Captain Putnam lost an arm in the beginning of the en- 
gagement, and was carried to the rear. His company 
kept their ground well under Lieutenant Hallo well. The 
Fifteenth had before this, after the arrival of General 
Baker, fallen back the second time, in good order, and 
had been placed by General Baker as above mentioned. 
The enemy now opened on us from the woods in front 
with a heavy fire of musketry, which was very effective. 
They fired low, the balls all going within from one to 
four feet of the ground. 

Three companies of the Twentieth were kept in re- 
serve, but on the open ground, exposed to a destructive 
fire. It was a continual fire now, with occasional pauses 
of one or two minutes, until the last. The rifled cannon 
was en the left, in the open ground, in front of a part of 
Baker's regiment, exposed to a hot fire. It was not dis- 
charged more than eight times. The gunners were shot 
iiown in the first of the engagement, and I saw Colonel 
carry a charge to the gun with his own hand. The 
last time that it was fired, the recoil carried it down the 
rise to the edge of the bank. The men of the Twentieth 
R L r iinciit behaved admirably, and all that were left of 
2 



L9 riLLIAM 

them irere oo the field, After 1 1 *• - battl< !ost 

l,\ i . I'll- v acted, 

mand, with and bi 

i implicitly, ami »\ 
had been given that we must surrender i 
the men that had been left, they cheerfully ralli 
delivered a well directed fire upon two 
we met, which had just advanced <>ut ofth< 

We t\j driven back by their fire in rel 

and covered ourselves with the slight ri 

We tried to induce the Colonel mpt an 

• him down the bank unhurt I tun 
to collect the remnant of my company, and wh< 
turned to the bank, they told me that the Col 

>r, and Adjutant had got into a small 
by this tiiia- safely across. Feeli > then about 

them, 1 'I all that I found of the Twenti< 

permission to all those who could Bwim and 
to, to take to the water, and sent over re] 

- by them. I then ordered those of ti 
who could not Bwim to follow up the river, in i 

thtiii out <>t' the murderous volleys which the 
were pouring down upon us from tl 

ut twenty of the Twentieth Regiment, tv. 
Fifteenth, and fortyofthe Tammany and ( 
i ts, followed as. 

We went up as far as the large mill, wh I found, 
by in- an- <■!' a oegro there, a -mall sun!, 
mill-way, ami induced him t<> gel it OUl ami 

down to the river. I; ipable of holdii 

nml I began to send them over, expectii _ 
•<> | ed by tin' enemy* In an hour they « 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 19 

all over, and I crossed with Lieutenant Abbott of my com- 
pany, and Captain Tremlett of Company A, Twentieth. 
I reported with the men at the hospital on the island. 
They got across to this side during the night. They 
were obliged to stop at the ferry and sleep out, many of 
them without overcoats or blankets, till morning. Out 
of twenty-two officers that were with us in the engage- 
ment, thirteen are killed, wounded, or missing; of three 
hundred and eighteen men, one hundred and forty-six 
are killed, wounded, or missing. The Colonel (Lee), I 
learned at the island, had not crossed, but I have since 
learned that he and his companions went farther up the 
river, found the boat which I afterwards used, thought it 
impracticable, and went on. They were (by the report 
of one or two men who have since come in) taken pris- 
oners. Colonel Lee, Major Revere, Adjutant Peirson, 
Dr. Revere, and Lieutenant Perry are supposed to have 
been together. I supposed it was my duty to make this 
report of that part of the regiment engaged, as senior 
officer of those saved. 

('amp Benton, 
Saturday Nujltt, October 2'), 18G1. 

My dear Mother, — .... I have not had time 
or heart to write you, who had such good news to hear, 
when I thought of those who could not get anything but 
bad tidings. I have been very busy during the whole 
week (which seems like one long day, or rather night), 
being in command of the regiment nearly all the time. 
To my great joy Lieutenant-colonel Palfrey returned in 
safety with his men Wednesday night, when all the 
forces were withdrawn from the Virginia shore by order 
of McClellan, who was here. 



20 U WILLI A If i R ' I / 

Lander was brought here wounded in tb 
thai ind when I went ap to headq 

thai Mc( i- ll:m had just been np to see him. I- 
cheerii y for me, for I knew thai we had by 

time ,L r <»t four thousand men ac 

rod, at Edwards' 1 md I was in i 

< I ,1 would come who could ta 

! j our letter of Sunday, which I gol R i 
hoped I Bhould have :i day of rest ; you little tli<» 
that J Bhould be the other side of the 1 
two the I" \t morning. I had neither food n< 

from Saturday night until 1 got back to rami) '1 

morning. We 1 the river, Caspar and I. undei 

command of Colonel Lee, in all one hundred men, in a 
whale boat that would carrj d, and tw.» small 

ta holding five and four respectively. I w< 
fir-r. and found a Bteep bank one hundred and t 
high, with thick wood <>n it. There was 
enough to form ten men, and the I 
that you could not Btand. I formed the men in Bit 
file up the path, waiting for the Colonel and the real of 
the men. 

were all over, ind our way up tin's 

ipice and formed on the open Bpace al 
detachment of the Fifteenth, three hundred m in, i 
moved up the road leading from the top of tin 
inland. We were to remain there t" Bupport them, and 
er their retreat We gave the men distin un- 

derstand that they must stand fast if the I 
running down the road, wait till they had j 
then cover their retn .•. I- lo feed rather d 

across, but we muat tha 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 21 

advance of the enemy and get cut to pieces. We sent 
out scouts in all directions ; three men under a sergeant 
composed each party. 

My Firs* Sergeant Riddle went out on our right. At 
tills time we did not know how many of the enemy there 
might be within gunshot of us. It was now about sun- 
rise, when we heard three or four shots in rapid succes- 
sion on our right. In a few minutes my First Sergeant 
(Riddle) was brought in, shot through the elbow. He 
was fainting from loss of blood. We tied a handker- 
chief around his arm and sent him down to the river. 
(I might as well finish with him here. It was a sad 
opening for me, he was the best sergeant in the regi- 
ment, a favorite of both the Colonel and General 
Lander, and perfectly invaluable to me. He is now at 
the hospital, and I am in hopes of saving his arm ; the 
bone is shattered ; he has great pain but good spirits.) 
It was nearly nine when we heard a splendid volley in the 
direction of the Fifteenth. We knew we were in for it 
then. Soon wounded men were brought down the road 
mentioned. How large a force they had met we did not 
know, but we learned from the wounded that the volley 

- from the enemy. We expected now to see the 
Fifteenth falling back on us. The firing ceased and we 
were in suspense, thinking that they might have been 
surrounded, and waiting to see the enemy come down 
that road and sweep our hundred men into the river. 
We were then deployed as skirmishers across the road. 
Company I on the right, Caspar on the left, an opening 
at the road to let the Fifteenth pass through to the river, 
\nd then check their pursuers until they could get across. 
i never expected to see Camp Beuton again, then, and 1 



WILLIAM 

ber bein 3 thai my bundle lia 

do one th< re to op< □ it when i I 

what \<»u were thinkin the tim< . 

1 little dn amed 1 ritical p 

At ten \. m. ( tolonel I Sevens with his men 
the road in good order. II<' reported thai 
tin- 

()ii! ing rather unpleasant ^ I 

We were not attacked, the enemy fearing tha l'IiI 

have a larger force. fight unl 

1 give them odds. At eleven, the remaindei 
Fii'; came over, and they went back up the j 

in, six 1 undred in all. The rest of our r< 
which crossed over on t<> tip' island with u< the night 

. — the island, Harrison's, is midway h 
Bhores, low and flat, — now can with 

( >mpany and mine three hundre 

lifornia \l \ of Philadelphia, now h 

r, and the prospect for a more e\ en 
better. But you ran imagine what a long mornii j 
was, waiting either for reinforcements or tl 

bdraw, with nothing to eal since dinner the «la\ 

■ 

ing depl . I had 

order " Lie down," and I mj 
my ■ >r half an hour. I n oke up and 

found that nearly all my skirmishers lying down had 
taken the opportunity to p, poor fellows. I 

couldn't bear to wake them until the firsl 

heard from the w la Dear us. [l 

that the h< her indifferent 

r. 11 out with tati_ ep on the field, wl 

ball nally dropping in. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 23 

General Baker arrived with his regiment (California 
it is called, composed of Philadelphia men). lie dis- 
posed the troops under his command as follows: — 

The Twentieth, three hundred and eighteen men, in 
the open space, their right up the river. The Fifteenth, 
6ix hundred, in the edge of the woods on the right. 
The California Regiment, part of it, on their left, touch- 
ing at right angles our right. 

A part of the Tammany Regiment was placed in front 
of us by Baker, hut I am sorry to say that after the first 
volley there was nobody in front of us but the enemy; 
they broke and fell in behind us. 

The following plan will show you our position after 
one or two volleys had been fired on us. [See Plan.] 

Well the first volley came and the balls Hew like hail. 
You can see from our position on the plan that we were 
exposed to their full fire. The whizzing of balls was a 
new sensation. I had read so mucji about being under 
fire and flying bullets that I was curious to experience 
it. I had a fair chance. An old German soldier told 
me that he had been in a good many battles, but that he 
never saw such a concentrated fire before. They fired 
beautifully, too, their balls all coming low, within from 
one to four feet of the ground. The men now began to 
drop around me; most of them were lyingdown in the first 
of it, being ordered to keep in reserve. Those that were 
lying down, if they lifted their foot or head it was 
k. <>i,e poor fellow near me was struck in the hip 
while lying flat, and rose to go to the rear, when an- 
other Btruck him on the head, and knocked him over. I 
felt that if I was going to be hit, I should be. whether I 
stood up or lay down, so I stood up and walked around 



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•J I Ml M WILLI A M FR ' 

the in. ii. stepping over them and I to then 

in :i jol ke away their thou im the 

bullet*, :in<l keep them I 

■ I al ii' -' .it my own i I 1 fell 1" I 

although I '1 of course thai I should feel the 

lead imI, :iu<l I was wondering where it would 

t :i k . ■ me. I kepi Bpeaking to Little, surprised that be 

iml hit amongst this rain of ballets. I 
three times " Why I.i'.. aren't you hit yet '." I 
M .'. ,- lying where the grass was turned up, and I 

ighed " him for getting hi- i fully di 

I ' . w.i- as '-""1 ami brave a- I knew he would 1> 
different companies began t<> wilt away under this 
rible fire. Still there was no terror among thi 
they placed implicit confidence in their <>lli< ■■ 

Imenl particularly), and you cou that 

now was the time they respected and looked up to them. 

We w. re driven back inch by inch, towards tl 
the hank. The rifled can non was not fired 'nan 

i times; the last time, the recoil carried i the 

hank, and it went crushing through the ti 
many. General Baker was standing i 
o'clock; In- seemed indifferent to bullets. He Baid it 
of no use, it was all over with us. A few minutes al 
fell, struck by eight balls "// cU < ucanjui 

by thi- how thick they flew. No one took command 

• he fell : in fact the battle was l<>-t Borne tin;'' bei 

this time [came on Captain Dreher; he was shot 

mgh the head in the upper part of his click. I 
hold of him, turned hi- face towards me. thought that he 
Bould not live hut a lew minutes, ami pushed ahead. 

When we fell hack again, he had hern taken to the 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 25 

re;ir, and was got across. He is now in a fair way to 
recovery, the ball not striking any vital part. Lieuten- 
ants Lowell aud Putnam and Captain Schmitt were 
now down, but were carried to the bank and taken 
across. 

Captain John Putnam, I forgot to say, was brought 
down by where we were from the right, where he was 
skirmishing, in the very first of the fight. I remember 
how I envied him at getting off with the loss of an arm. 
and I wished then that I could change places with him. 
For I knew then, that we should either be killed or 
taken prisoners. The field now began to look like my 
preconceived idea of a battle iield. The ground was 
smoking and covered with blood, while the noise was 
perfectly deafening. Men were lying under foot, and 
here and there a horse struggling in death. Coats and 

©© O 

gun* strewn over the ground in all directions. I went 
to the Colonel and he was sitting behind a tree, perfectly 
composed. He told me there was nothing to be done 
but ''surrender and save the men from being mur- 
dered." Most of the men had now got down the bank. 
I thought it over in my mind, and reasoned that we 
might as well be shot advancing on the enemy, as to be 
slaughtered like sheep at the foot of the bank. 

I called for Company I for one last rally. Every man 
that was left sprang forward, and also about six men 
(all who were left) of Captain Dreher's company, and ten 
men of Company II under Lieutenant Hallowell, all of 
whom followed me up the rise. As we reached the top, 
I found Little by my Bide. We came upon two fresh 
companies of the enemy which had just come out of the 
woods; they had their flag with them. Both sides were 



26 M WILLIAM 

so surprised at Beeing each other — tin _ r ua 

up with this handful oi men, _ ■ hese 

iwn up in pei ler, — tl 

Ami ut 
.miii being fired) for 
tin \ lei fly their volley at the did. 

[f bullets had rained before, they cam 
i thai any one could i We 

were driven back again. I bad ;<» order Bharplj 
two ut my brave fello they would go 1* 

1 . . _ was I"-; now. 

One of the Philadelphia papers Bays, " 
thin d up as captain of tin- Fifteenth 

R giment rallied tin- remnants of two companies, and 
Handy up the rise, but was driven back by 
powering numbers, after 
volley." S.i far -«» good. Then it says, " 
the Imp - ni' tii«' case, be tied a white handkerchief 

on his sword ami surrendered himself ami the remnant 

ut' 1. ..:.;.'" 

Tin- officer in question did not u«'t qui ir a- the 
Last part of the Btory, no;- did he belong to the Fif- 
th Massachusetts 

When we got back to the hank, we induced tin- < 
ml to go down and trj , The Adjutant! 

arm and I his right, and we got him down tin- hank 
unhurt. 1 ! is a horrible scene. Men i 

ther, th«- wounded and tin- dying. The 
full of human beings, struggling with cadi other and 
tin- water, the Burface of \\ »ked like ■ pond 

when it rains, from tin- withering that the en- 

pouring down from tin- top of the hank. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLE7T. 27 

Those who were not drowned ran the chance of being 
shot. I turned back and left the Colonel, to collect 
the remnant of my company, and when I returned he 
was gone. I asked for him, and they told me that he, 
the Major, and Adjutant had got into a small boat and 
gone across safely. I looked, and saw a small boat 
landing on the other side, and took it for granted they 
were safe. I then, being in command, collected what I 
could of the regiment, and told those who could swim, 
and wished to, to take the water, it was the only means 
of escape. Nearly all my company could swim, and I 
made them stop and take off their clothes. We sent 
over reports and messages by them. Little and I 
thought it our duty to stay by those men who could not 
swim. I allowed Macy to go, hoping that one of us 
might get home to tell the story. Little sent his watch 
over by Kelly, the bravest boy in our company, and 
I told him to go to Boston, and go to you and tell you 
that your son was probably a prisoner. What should 
you have said to the news ? Little did you think or 
know what was taking place on that Monday after- 
noon, when 

Volleys on right of us, 
Volleys on loft of us, 
Volleys in front of us, 
Rattled and thundered. 

I now determined to get the men out of this five, and 
surrender without any more loss. I started up the 
river, followed by about twenty men of the Twentieth 
Regiment, twenty of the Fifteenth, and forty of the 
Tammany and California regiments. Captain Trem- 
lett, Company A, Twentieth, Lieutenant Whittier, ditto, 



\Y U.I.I. 11/ 

iiinl I. went with me. Aii offi 

was with the ] »:i ii \ . We followed up 
; the river, ami came to an old mill w ' 
kn- w was u|» iii this direction. It \, and run 

by a man Darned Smart, who lived in 1 so the 

a., told in'-, whom I questioned a- to wh i was ti. 
\\ i on a party of the i 

I asked him where his boat was. 11'- woud 
how I knew that they had one, and Baid it was pp in 

tin- mill-way. 

1 went up there and found a skiff undi 
rod - from the edge of the river. It v 

of holding five persons. Those with me declared it 
and impracticable, and proposed going into the mill, 
i night's rest, and - up in 

morning. I thought, though, that if I only g 

i of five over, it would 1>«' worth trj 
it down to the river and began the trait 

■ ry minute to be d ed and 

th<- rebels. vVnen the boat waa put into th< . the 

whole crowd made a rush lor it. I ha I a little 

uasion by stepping in front of it, drew- my p 
(tor tip time this afternoon), and 

that I would Bhoot the first man who moved without my 

order. Ii was the only thing tha i them. '1 

bedient and submissive, and avoided being shot 
1»\ me or taken prisoners by the enen i 
t my own company and Bent them 
ith a man to bring back the boat So, by de- 

of the Twentieth, next tl 
ith (whose officer, by the way. Bneaki t 

. and left lii^ men on my bands), and 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BABTLETT. 29 

lastly those of the Tammany and California regiments. 
I sent Lieutenant Whittier over in the second load, to 
look out for the men as they came over. It was a tedi- 
ous job. At last I went over with Tremlett and Little, 
and was once more back on the island. We thus saved 
eighty men and three officers from being taken prison- 
ers. I learned afterwards that the Colonel, Major, and 
Adjutant were ahead of me up the river, had been to 
the mill, found the boat, thought it impracticable, and 
went on. They were afterwards taken prisoners. Lieu- 
tenant Perry and Dr. Pevere were with them. We 
went down to the hospital opposite our battle-field, 
where we found the wounded being cared for. They 
had heard, and believed, that I was shot, and the wel- 
come that the men 'gave me brought the first tears to 

my eyes. 

I got to the Maryland side with all that I could find 
of my company (live men) about twelve, midnight. Then 
we had still that long walk down the tow-path and up 
to our camp from the river, where we arrived at three 
a. M. I got to bed pretty well tired out at half past 
three. When I awoke there were several waiting at 
my tent door forme to awake, to welcome me and con- 
graiulate me on my safe return. 

On waking, I sent telegraphs to Jane by mail to send 
to Boston ; did you get them ? 

By the time I was up, Colonel Palfrey had started of! 
with the only remaining company of the regiment (Com- 
pany K) to cross the river at Edwards' Ferry. He 
got back safe, as I told you, and relieved me from the 
command of the regiment. 

The first night that I was here in command, I thought 



WILL/A 1/ TLKTT. 

it l aal, bol 

ol broken op, and 
i w i:li the music It had 
lished to them that night the follow lerj — 

!!i \i>.m \i.i i Bfl Twi M., 

- 

•I Order No. — 

the pleasant duty of the oommandii 
ulate the men of the Tw< nti< th K on 

;• admii induct in the late batl ur- 

and bravery under :i galling fire for li<»u onlj 

I by your coolness and steadiness throughout 
. with you, the I- 1 — of bo many b 
and men ; bul hopes, with you, tli.it the tiui'- may 
..«■ w hen we may ai 
You have established your reputation for bra 
and gained honor, though you lost the 

By order Commandii r. 

The men were quite affected, and the n< the 

Twentieth is engaged she will l< mark that will 

doI be losl Bighl of in history. 

Out of twenty-two officers that , only 

tine returned safe. < tf three hundred and i 
men, one hundred and killed, w 

missing ; a loss which, in proportion to the number 

I • I 3 a a li-' 
kili' tided, and missing, ami also of Company 1. 

i- they m ty - ad i" you :■> Learn. 

I 1. W. Raymond Lee, missing, prisoner (unhurt). 

Major r. I. Revere, missing, prisoner (unbu 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 31 

Dr. E. IT. R. Revere, missing, prisoner (unhurt). 

Adj. C. L. Peirson, missing, prisoner. 

Lieut. G. 15. Perry, missing, prisoner. 

Lieut. Wesselhoeft, missing, probably drowned. 

Capt. Babo, missing, probably drowned. 

Lieut. TV. L. Putnam, wounded, since died. 

Capt. (r. A. Schmitt, wounded badly, doing well. 

Lieut. Lowell, wounded slightly (flesh), doing well. 

Capt. Dreher, wounded in the head, doing well. 

Capt. Putnam (John), wounded (lost right arm), do- 
ing well. 

Lieut. Holmes (0. TV.), wounded (breast), doing 
well. 

A sad report, but it might have been worse. 

Of Company I, forty-eight men were engaged, twenty 
(nearly half) were killed, wounded, or missing, as fol- 
lows : — 

Those that are missing were either shot or drowned 
in the river. 

First Sergt. Riddle (TV. R.), wounded, right arm shat- 
tered. 

Corp. Thomas Hollis, wounded (finger shot off), doing 
well. 

Private A. M. Barber, wounded (right arm), doing 
well. 

A. Davis, hilled, shot through heart. 

Thomas Dolan, wounded, linger shot off. 

Lewis Dunn, missing, probably shot. 

TV. F. Hill, missing, probably shot. 

Albert Kelly, missing, probably shot. 

M. Y. Kempton, missing, probably a prisoner. 

Sam. Lowell, missing, probably a prisoner. 



mi MOJR OF WILLIAM i r 

Pel ' EcK( ddi | my pel and prid< k the 

il.ly SO 

G, ( . r att, wounded badly (will n 
Julius Strick, wounded (right arm). 
Jan S Idon, wounded (heel), doing well. 
Albert Stackpole, wounded, ed. 

< <. Worth, 1 1 1 1 — "niL r . probably si 
Summerhays, wounded slightly in the hand. 

0. Gammons, wounded, finger shot off. 
E, V. Skinner, missing, perhaps a pri 

1. Barker, missing, perhaps a prisoner. 

Killed and wounded, 11 ; missing, il loss, 20. 

Worth and McKenna were two noble fellows. I was 
Little a day or two before, how 1 ul<l 

be i" have any of these men killed, in whom we took 
such an interest ! I send you a little piece of a 
crape which went through the fight on Monday 
It was tied on to my Bword hilt the day before. ( 

had a -il hi- hilt, hut said that u it 

when we were marching up the tow-path, and t<> 
instantly. He and I were the only captains that . 

■ • on our Bwords, and were the only t\\<> thai 
not hit. Captain Putnam i> getting along finely. Cap- 
tain Schmitt will recover. rX it deal of pain, 
hut bears it Bplendidly. 

W< II, mother, I have written a 
hut I guess you will he interested enough t" read it 
through. I have written of course what I old not 
have done to any one else, and you must not shon 
M \ to General £ 

like thi . the parts relati _ I i my- 

self which it did not b to Bpeak 



dred. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 33 

else but you at home. I have now been through my 
first battle, aud it was a fierce one. If we should have 
a campaign of ten years, we could never get in such a 
place where we should lose so many men or be under 
such severe fire. General Stone told Colonel Palfrey 
last night that the rebels' official report made "them lose 
three hundred men killed/anfl*WifldAit)fiaayytha\they 
had five thousand troopi engag&fQ&'Miiftixteen tun- 

FEB 1 2 1203 f • 

In the night following cn&Hb^t'Ie, tli^ Lieuten- 
ant-colonel of the Twentieth, with all of the bri- 
gade left in camp, except a slender camp guard, 
was ordered across" the river at a point some 
four miles below the battle-field, and he did not 
return till the following Thursday morning. His 
absence, and the capture of Colonel Lee and 
Major Revere, left Bartlett the senior officer of 
the regiment present for duty. His action dur- 
ing these two days was wise and thoughtful. He 
had a dress parade the next night after he got 
back from the battle, " both to give the men ihe 
idea that everything was not broken up, and also 
to cheer them with the music of the band." 

In his journal he wrote, a few days after, in 
reference to some articles in the Boston and New 
York papers : u They compliment me too highly, 
who did nothing more than my duty. My cool- 
ness was in me. I ought not to have, the credit 
of it, but be grateful to God, who in his mercy 



.: 1 " WILLI 

nting me and 

i Ball's I'.l.iti 
R 

i. ;. ml one first lieutenanl taken pi 
aptain and i wo lieutenants killed, and tl 

ml two lieutenani erely wounded, in 

lition to aboul one hundred and I 
uoned officers and pri 
and in' I aptain Bartlel me, 1>\ 

of these casualtii . 

ent for duty, and he Lnued du 

the whole of the following Bix months, the 
of his Btay with the oent in the field. For 

four monl ined in i 

p, and then it moved to Pool e it 

ed a few days. It then formed pi 
column which marched nj> to Harp ry t in 

Bupporl ineral Banks, and moved out t! 

Charlestown to Berryville. It returned to H 
per't Ferry, and was cantoned for a week a1 Boli- 
var Heights, took rail forWashin od tli- i 
transported by wi - Mom 
There the Corps I jervation, already me 
time under the command neral Sedgwick, 
nd I>i\ Lsion of 1 1 nd Army 
under ( leneral Sumner. Th< 
now commanded 1 ral I >ana. '1 hi 
men! moved up the Peninsula with the r the 
irmy "i" McClellan, and took part in th< led 
i orktown. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FLAX CIS FART LETT. 35 

During all this period, Captain Bartlett proved 
himself fully equal to the onerous duties and 
responsibilities to which the fortune of war had 
called him. It is impossible to estimate too 
highly the value of the assistance he gave to 
his commanding officer, and of his services to 
the command. While his class-mates were still 
undergraduates, he rapidly made himself a most 
efficient and accomplished second officer of a regi- 
ment in the field. In those early days of the 
war, none of us knew our duties too well, and 
imperfect knowledge made the task of those who 
strove to be faithful very laborious. The princi- 
ple of the subdivision of labor, which applies in 
the fullest force to a thoroughly organized regi- 
ment, was very partially understood, and very 
partially put in force. Every conscientious regi- 
mental commander had his hands full, and the 
calamity at Ball's Bluff brought an immense 
amount of miscellaneous work upon the com- 
mander of the Twentieth. The mail came day 
at'h-' day, laden with letters for him, from the 
friends of the killed, the wounded, the missing, 
and of those who were safe, but hail neglected to 
report their .safety to their homes. The daily 
routine of the regiment had to be gone through 
with, (iie numerous visitors to camp had to be 
courteously received, the immense mass of corre- 
spondence had to be disposed of, and late at night 
came his final rounds in the hospitals in which 



MEM WILLIAM FRANCIS BABTl I 

the wounded lay. With even a le oifi- 

111 the second place, something of wh 
tie and ought to have been done must fa 

11 more or 1< Lected, but, fortunately for 

i all, Bartlett was more than a respectable i 
cer. Always alert, always zealous, he kepi ch< 
fully and successfully ;tt work. He took 
interest in i. and rapidly made bin 

Bcient in the school of the battalion, and 
drilled the regiment constantly and well. His 
height, line carriage, good horsemanshi] 
powerful voire, caused him to appear in such 
positions to the greatest advantage. It was char- 
acteristic of him, that at this time he learned to 
play the bugle sufficiently well to sound the in- 
fantry call 8. In some way or other he acqui 
such a knowledge of the evolutions of the line 
that one day, when he was unexpectedly caJ 
upon t<» take the regiment out for brigade drill, 
under a colonel accidentally in command 
brigade, and who was believed to h ■■ { ri- 

vately studying, in order to surprise and catch the 
Twentieth, he manoeuvred his battalion Bmoothly 
and without hesitation, while some <»f his neigh- 
bors bungh d. 

About the first of December, 1861, at the invi- 
tation of his commanding officer, he j ined t< 
with him, and their personal friendship, h- 

1 by this close relation, knew no change while 
he lived, except to grow i as time went 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 37 

The following letters describe some of his expe- 
riences ia the early part of the Peninsular Cam- 
paign, of which he was only permitted to see the 
commencement. His care of his men on the 
evening following their first reconnoissance was 
gratefully remembered and mentioned by them 
when we turned in our colors on the 2 2d of 
December, 1865. 

Camp before Yorktowx, April 10, 18G2. 

Dear Mother: — I have been through some clanger 
safely since I wrote you Sunday. Monday morning our 
regiment, with the Nineteenth Massachusetts, went out 
on a reconnoissance v towards York town. We marched 
three or four miles through the woods and mud, when 
we came to a rebel entrenchment on the opposite side of 
a swamp, which they had made by damming a stream. 

The engineer who went with the General reconnoitered 
it, covered by our skirmishers. "We exchanged perhaps 
a hundred shots with them, without doing any damage to 
any one, and, the engineer having accomplished his ob- 
ject, we left, and kept to the left; about two miles. We 
came to another battery on the same stream. Here they 
opened on us with shell from a thirty-two-pounder 
Three men of the Nineteenth were wounded. One died 
that night We jjot under the cover of some woods and 
covered the engineer while he reconnoitered. It looked 
pretty squally when they opened on us with shell, as we 
had no artillery with us. We withdrew about dark, 
having effected the object of the reconnoissance. We 
had \s> march home in the dark, through the woods, in 
¥iud up to our knees. It had rained hard all day. 



38 U WILL /.i 1/ . 

1 fortune to wn ar my i ubl thai 

I 'i much I I, ind w 

! ■ lone! and I bad a t»-i p in, but tl 

had oothing down in the mud 

rail n|) rou 

.-in. I mai 
Prom the Butler, which he b • 

tributed it - ill drinl 

hot \\ hiskev and watei j ed out till 

in the rain doing it. I then cam.' in. .. k- 

. which were wet through, rubbed my 
dry, and lay down and Blept Boundlj I 

all right in tlie morning. It w ining. a 

day, the third day. I hope it will 

yed the advan . much, as it U 

e artilli 
John Putnam IS ;T"iii,U r hack to ] I ; he 

can't Btand this, it is too rough for him. 
oe. 

Two or three of thi k. but I well 

Arthur la a little unwell to-day, bul 
i n't tell hi> mother, because he will be all ri 
morrow, and she would be only worri . ( I .! Sum- 
arrived to-day with thi I have n't 
< reneral Mc( llellan Bince b< 1 on t!. 
1 [e i- h( re. Colonel Lee is at the fort. He will n >t 
join us al \ . he thinks. 

• to all. W. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 39 

Sunday Eve. 
Camp before Yobktown, April 20, 18G2. 

Dear Mother : — It is just six months ago to-night 
since we crossed over to Harrison's Island and Ball's 
Bluff. We are having very hard duty just now, and 
shall have for some time. We are camped in the same 
swamp, within three quarters of a mile from the ene- 
my's works. We have to go out every third day and 
picket the whole brigade, close to them. Day before 
yesterday we were out; we go again to-morrow. We 
were firing all day, whenever we saw anything to shoot 
at. We had one of our men badly wounded in the breast. 
Last night we were turned out twice by a brisk volley of 
musketry, which seemed^, just on the edge of the camp. 
Our pickets were driven in, and the firing lasted about 
fifteen minutes. Some of the bullets dropped into the 
camp. They were driven back without our going out. 
We were turned out again at two, and stood in the rain 
and mud. This morning we expected a quiet day. al- 
though the camp was all water and mud ; raining hard. 
About ten. sharp tiring commenced, and we had to fall 
in, and our two brigades were marched out to the front, 
where the other brigade was on picket. We expected 
that we were in for a light, as Sunday is the favorite day 
We lay out in the woods all day in the rain, and came in 
to-night without doing anything; they did not see fit to 
attack. We keep up a continual shelling of their works. 
To-morrow we take our turn again. I suppose we shall 
be turned out once or twice to-night; that 'a why I am 
in no hurry to go to bed, as I want to wait until after 
the first turn-out. 1 hope it won't rain to-morrow while 
ve are out. I am fortunate in being so well, many of 
.he officers being sick with diarrhoea. 



40 vci wiLi.i .\ 1/ . i r. 

\\ mi\ lri\ 6 B w«k or duty 

before the grand at I Ic. I pleasant dul . 

\ in being shot 1 behind a tree. I 

ilar Indian : I have not i i much* 

I "in \ >.u day bef »re yesterd y. 1 

to bear the of musketry every i I 

i try and gel Borne Bleep. I bard | 

Ldier'a life ; th«' battle would be a 1 
lirt' from thia. It will be pleasant to look back on I 
it" I t back, and hear the rain beat on the cuj 

and think of the nights I have lain oat in it inth< 
listening to the pickets firing and the shells bursting, 
and dirty. When it dors n't rain it is very b . N 
re last, I lay in the woods ander the sky. without 
er me except my overcoat The great trouble 
lb from wood-ticks ; thej s i and bury 

their head in you, and yon can't i»ull them out without 
pulling their heads off, which makes a had Bore, i 

only way is to CUt them Out I have only had <>: 

on me yet, although I have stopped four or fiv< 
they gol hold. These trouble us a great deal more than 
the rebel bullets. I must Btop lure, as it is getting I 
It is a certain thing that we shall be turned out ui 
arms about the time I get to b1 

d night Love to all. W. 

on tip 24th of April. 1862, < 
was with his regiment at the out in front 

Y ktown. While at the outer line, kneeling, 
and examining the enemy through his field-gla 
he received ;i wound from a Bharp-ehooter'a rifle 
which cost him his leg. His entry in his journal 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 41 

is as follows : " While I was visiting the pick- 
ets, watching the enemy with my glass, a sharp- 
shooter hit me in the knee with a minie ball, 
shattering the bone down to my ankle. Dr. Hay- 
ward amputated it four inches above the knee, 
and I started for Baltimore in the same after- 
noon." Only this and nothing more. 

He was carried to the rear on a stretcher very- 
soon after he received the wound, and the opera- 
tion was performed at once. The writer was with 
him all the time. He looked up once and said, 
"It's rough, Frank, isn't it?" and this was the 
solitary word of complaint that escaped him. 

His fine, slender figure had by this time filled 
out to be a magnificent specimen of manly vigor, 
and it was a pitiful sight to see it so maimed. 

He remained in Baltimore several weeks, and 
then went to his home in Massachusetts. He 
recovered his strength rapidly, though his suffer- 
ings were constant and often acute, but he bore 
them with admirable cheerfulness and fortitude, 
and he was able to get much enjoyment out of the 
months he passed at home. He went to the class- 
day of his class at Harvard, received his degree at 
Commencement, and was treated with admiring 
cordiality and attention wherever he went. The 
following letters give some details of the manner 
in which he received his wound, of the spirit in 
which he accepted it, and of the progress of his 
recovery, and also show his interest in his regi- 
ment and his loyalty to it. 



12 M WILLI A 1/ 

I . I., i; \i: I I i I I. 1 '.-... : — 

Y. sterday morning tin- Twenl 

incut « duty. 

went out a little I loon to visit th< 

Ilr found what he considered a 
position for observing the enemy. II«' knell down 
bind :i tree and watched their movements through a 

1 It- had been watching them 
when he received a Bhot from :i rifl 
A litter was Benl for him and he was 1 »r« - 
rear. When I i him his color had not left him, 

:uul In- ■•..!- suffering only at intervals, when Bpasm 
pain i him for a moment, ami quickly passed and 

uparatively comfortable again. His thought- 
fulness for others ami self-forgetfuln shown by 
hi- repeatedly urging me to 1 save him. a- I v 
ferii i :i slight lam< 1I<- was carri 
bouse near by, ami then I ive him chl 
form ami examined his wound. Drs. Haywj 

hore of the Twentieth, Dr. Haven of tin nth, 

ami Dr. Clark, a Burgeon from AY unani- 

mous in the opinion that amputation was >nly 

proper, hut, necessary. I urged upon them to 

iv proceeding, that there was no chan 
ami that it would not do to delay for consultation with 
other bu 

mred me positively that there was no r 

doubt, ami that the operation must be performed 

mmediately; that the hall had totally dei the 

knee joint, ami Bhivered ami destroyed the I the 

leg for six inches below; furthermore that d raid 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 43 

materially diminish the chances of recovery. The leg 
was taken off by Dr. Hayward, in the lower third of the 
portion above the knee. Examination made subse- 
quently fully confirmed the opinions of the surgeons, 
and Brigade Surgeons Crosby and Dougherty, and Dr 
Liddell, Medical Director of the Division, who arrived 
presently, pronounced everything well and wisely done. 
and every one of the surgeons were of the opinion that 
your son had gone through the operation most favorably, 
lie suffered a good deal after he returned to conscious- 
ness, but not to the point of faintness. His suffer- 
ings arose mostly from the necessary dressings. He 
bore the announcement of what had been done very 
firmly, and told me that he had expected it. Every ex- 
ertion was made to put him at once on his way to Wash- 
ington, and he presently started for York River, in a 
four horse ambulance, attended by Dr. Clark and my 
servant, who is as gentle as a woman, and who has a 
strong feeling of personal attachment for your son. 
There went with him, also, seven or eight stout fellows 
of his own company, to carry him on a litter, should the 
motion of the ambulance increase his sufferings. 

His color returned soon after the operation was ended, 
his smile was ready and sweet, his eyes clear, the grasp 
of his hand and the tone of his voice firm. I hardly 
1 tell you that he bore his fate with his own gallant 
spirit, and that he did not break down for a moment. 
His escort report that he arrived safely at the river, and 
was there placed on board the Commodore. 

To you who know so well my opinion of your son's 
merits, and what close companionship has existed be- 
tween us for six months, I need say little of the afflic- 



1 1 MEMOIR OF wiil.iAM 

i thai this « 
in. nt is terribl a ith dm 

lamenting the misfortune. Soar bril- 

liant soldier I have known in the Vblunf 
I iticipated for him the highest distinction. You ] 
my sine empathy, yon and M . Ba tletl and your 

daughters, in this painful moment, and my love and ad- 
miration for your Bon cause d 
sorrow at this heavy calamity. 

\ ■ v respectfully and truly yours, 

1'. \V. r LLFB1 I . i ' 

The Burgeons encourage me to I that he will 

be comparatively comfortable in a day or I 

rBOSI CAPTAIN BAB Mi.i r/fl v< I PHI i:. 

l'.Ai.in; B, 1862. 

Thurt fay. 

When this note may reach you. or where, I have no 
idea, but I will "draws how al tore," ki 

will be very glad to hear of the | a of my patient 

■ral days have passed Bince I wrote, and he has 1 
improving in general health and h, and look 

mori limself than I Bupposed he would 

a time. 'Tin' main cause of his troubles him al- 

most constant twinges of pain, and h< . al- 

though he tries to make \ ery Light oi 

5 it last favor was written May 1st) but you have 
on the move, and Prank i j our ch< 

ml, kindly missives. I had written thus far when the 

man 1« ft your note of the 3d, and I h;r 

ished readii od will let the one to whom it is ad- 

--,', Q r. ipoo 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 45 

My dear Frank, — I have just heard read your short 
note of the 3d, and am glad for your sake that you have 
the little Colonel and Major hack again. I am very 
sorry that I did not see them when they passed through 
here. I expected them every time the door bell rang 
for three or four days. They probably had to go right 
through. Give my love to the Colonel ; tell him I shall 
hope to see him before long. Remember me to the 
Major too. What do they do for horses ? I should jke 
to know where you are this morning. I hope your foot 
did not trouble you when the advance was made. \Yere 
you not taken by surprise ? 

Your " Fourth of July cocktail " at Pitcher's looks more 
practicable every day. I shall get to Boston before you, 
though. I will have the house got ready and the table 
spread against the time you come. I shall be round on 
crutches (doubtful) in a week, at least that is my plan. 
I am going to have a man here to measure me for them 
to-day. Like being measured for a coffin, is it not ? 
Mother writes that last under protest. 

My leg has given me a good deal of pain since yester- 
day 7 , owing to its being too tightly bandaged. The last 
ligature is away, and it ought to heal rapidly now. The 
foot that is gone pains me most. It would seem chat 
somebody made it their amusement playing " stick-knife " 
on ir a greater part of the time. I am much better able 
to bear it now than when I was weak. I smoked my 
first cigarette day before yesterday, winning thereby a 
box of cigars from my cousin, who foolishly wagered that 
amount that I would not smoke for three weeks. Do 
you know it is just two weeks to-day since I "stopped" 
%o neatly that pretty little bullet at just about tl is hour ? 



.1//. tfl WILLIAM FRA I 1 . 

I think I well advano <\. I 

• • him a Bhoii lecture aboul 
'. 
him under w thai I 

I I u lil resign in fa I 

discipline. I can no! 
on this way. < I deal of love to all 

and wli;it you please for If, from your I 

The above was jerked out bel ■ 
ful pain. 'ii here 

him Bomewhat, and assures me it is doii 
welL 

PROM CAPTAIN BAR1 

Baltimi 11. 

I ar daily lest your kind disposition shall <• 
to i mucb trouble in my behalf I k it it 

cam convenient I 

faithfully; :m<l much as I d< 'ighl in your lei ers, 1 
distressed by the thought that you are putting j 

>o much trouble Bometimes. I I 
obliged to write every day, only when it i 

convenient 

At this point enter Dr. at M L. < I writing 

!v. I'. E., "with life." ( Patient look 
innocent) 

"Pa a litl this morning, pr 

Bitting i 

*• Yes Bir, I Bupp< point 

cond 1 >r., sou of first, and the Ian . 
hnical.) .... 
"lii» i en Bhifted (7. c. ike bandq 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLKTT. 47 

The Drs. have retired, everything is going on well. 
I am now at liberty to resume my writing, and make 
those pulse move a little faster again. 

I wish I were with you this pleasant Sunday morning, 
or at least knew exactly where you were. 

"We hear of Franklin's and Sedgwick's Divisions beinor 
engaged, and are anxious for particulars, but can get 
none. The general report is, you were entirely vic- 
torious, with the odds against you. We shall hear 
soon. 

I find my sword-arm is getting a little tired, and I 
shall have to let mother vibrate her smoothly swinging 
goose plume. (N. B. she writes with a quill.) 

The weather is delightful and most favorable to me. 
I see much people, now, daily. 

I wish you would ask one Ilayward, in your regiment, 
if he intends to answer a letter that I wrote him some 
months since, when I was first brought here. 

Give a great deal of love to the Colonel and all the 
fellows, and believe me as ever, 

Yours most devotedly, 

Frank. 

News this morning that Norfolk, navy-yard and all, 
is taken. It may be true. AD anxious to hear of your 
movements. F. 

P. S. Quite a long letter for the first attempt 
isn't it ? 

P. S. WRITTEN BY CAPTAIN BARTLETT's MOTIIER. 
Frank has left me little to say ; to be truthful, his pic- 
ture should be shaded a little ; but he looks only on the 
bright side. 



48 Ml VO iM FRA i /' 

If. . ! ; ■■ DO <l'»ulit, doing ivm:irk:i!il J \ the 

i.iv. Still. b< 

at times, and this has been ;t r< y for him. 

11 roely been free from pain ■ moment, and 

the poor shattered fool and leg which is 
• Ask the ( Solonel it' th 
Christian burial, formj foot torments me as if it wi 
ill al 

I had nearly forgotten to say, thai <iU your letters 
have been received, but not in the order in which : 

• written. The last bears da! - p. m.. 

ow anxiously looking for □ 
which is the Last place where your I): o of 

as being engaged. 

PROM CAPTAIN BARTLETT. 

r. mi i m " u. 
ighted by the receipt of two of your | I let- 

this morning, bearing dates <>t" the 7th. 8th, a 
I omforted me to learn that "grim risaged i 
had u smoothed his wrinkled front " even a little; 
that you were eomparaHvely comfortable, an 
in good spirits. 

1 was very anxious to hear from you after I fa I 
that Sedgwick's Division had been engaged al V. 
P int. T.'ll Arthur that I reo iv< '1 his 

• erday. 

Y u are right in supposing that I am m 
fortable a^ is possible; everything imaginable is <lono 
f nr my convenience and gratification. But they cant 

npy my mind so thai it won't tm.. $$ttthward with a 
longing, homesick feeling, mingled with a vain regret 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS B^HTLETT. 49 

at being snatched away just at the moment when we 
were about to see something of glorious and victorious 
war. 

I take hardly any interest in the war news now, ex- 
cepting that which immediately concerns you. I dread 
positively to hear of a great victory, as it seems to put 
narrower limits to the time that I must get well in, if I 
would be " in at the death." I am far, mind you, from 
complaining of my lot. I think I am indeed fortunate 
in making so successful a recovery, and in reaching such 
delightful quarters. But, still it is hard to banish the 
feeling, that I was taken away without having effected 
anything, and at a time when every one was most needed 

at his post 

With a great deal of love, I am always 

Yours, 
Frank. 

"WiNTiiRor, July 7, 1862. 

My last date from you is Fair Oaks, June 2oth. 
How much has happened to you since then ! I am very 
anxious to hair from you. I dread to look at the pa- 
pers, lest I shall see the name of some one I love among 
the " killed." I almost wish I could see yours among 
the " slightly wounded," for then I could feel that you 
were safe, and that I was about to see you 

I have not any decided opinion as yet on this last 
move. It seems to have been that movement laid down 
m tactics as the most dangerous — a change of f-ont in 
the pr< -■ soce of the enemy. 

You seem to have fought the move through like tigers, 
against great odds, and have made them pay very dearly 



WILLIAM 

ft, i their Attempted interruption. I tietb is 

pedal honor foi idy and delib* 

i t . 

I hope the report of u Twentieth, Capl 
killed," may not prove true. It would 
ha\ e it <• tnfirmed. 

I .lil yon in one of my last l< ick 

that ii. 'in- '1 to have received, [told yon it 

n't dangerous. I was right I; baa . 
in- ever Bince, and now I think 
before, .- 1 1 1 < 1 I think I have Less pain. So I <li<l 

• tapping it/' .... 

i peak of my leaving the Twentieth. W 

friends here have offered to use their in:' 

at the head of one of the new r< I 

tx 'i very grateful for the offers, of course, but have in- 
variably discountenanced them. You knew that I had 
rather be a captain in the Twentieth than 
any regiment that may be raised. 

Promotion in the Twentieth would hav< very 

pleasant to me when it brought me nearer you. 1 
since the 21st of October last, my happii aid not 

have been increased by the addition of t : 

No man is half a Boldier who do< 
don, but if mine should 1" I by the 

of your oft-uttered tin-rat. to u leave th< 
Richmond is ours," I hope yon will believe that it 
would have lost its g charm. 

In my heart (as I used to hint to you), I finnlj 
lieve, and more earnestly hope, that we Bhall take our 
honorable discb u ether, when tin and 

war-worn veterans " of the Twentieth shall be m 
nut of l amon. A >s. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 51 

.... No one here suspects my impatience to rejoin 
you, or my unfounded regrets at the tardiness of a re- 
covery which lias in fact been unusually rapid. 
Such is poor human nature 

God keep you in safety through the midst of danger, 
is the daily prayer of Yours, 

Frank. 

On the 6th of September, 1862, lie was offered 
the command, of a camp at Pittsfield, Massachu- 
setts, known as Camp Briggs, where the Forty- 
ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- 
try, a nine months' regiment, was then assem- 
bling. He accepted the offer with some reluc- 
tance, and assumed command of the post on the 
20th of the same month. His going to Pittsfield 
had an important influence upon his life, for it 
was there that he met the lad}' whom he married 
at the end of the war, and there that he made his 
home for most of the years of peace which he 
lived to see. Mr. Johns, who has told extremely 
well the story of " Life with the Forty-ninth 
Massachusetts Volunteers," thus records the im- 
pression he made at first sight : " His appearance 
denotes much of intelligent energy, and his gen- 
tlemanly manner, his soldierly bearing (for he 
looks the soldier even on crutches), and our sym- 
pathy with him in his great loss, have made him 
at once a universal favorite." The favorable im- 
pression which he made at first was deepened as 
officers and men came to know him more. His 



•in of w ilia 

popularii v was based upon ; t 
Hii-l g .nlilv, Dotwithstandii mil 

rve whioh was natural bo him, and to which 
tli.- average native American volant 
unaccustomed. The way in which he drilled I 
men in the manual, without crutches, and going 
through each motion with the musket hi 

ry remarkable, ami seems aim edible 

in the telling. Mr. Johns says, writing when 
light was a frequent occurrence: •• [t isati 

see that man u r '» through tin- manual of ai : . 

He put- Midi a finish, such a vim to every d 
For two hours at a time In- will Btand on that re- 
maining leg, till half of us belie 
any need of the one buried at Yorktown, hut it 
- only a superfluous member or m< [la- 

ment. If the Colonel (I will call him Midi) 
needs rest, he takes it :is a part of the exere 
ire cannot tell whioh is manual of arms and which 
rest. The cords of that right Leg must Btand cut 
like great whip-lash There about all 

this. It is this quiet, intense determination, this 
fixedness of w i T . that makes us d< nel 

Bartlett, with hut cue leg, for our eommani 

r any other man with the full complement 

lim': s. Somehow ox other, we cannot tell why, 
w-- believe that he will not be the mere buffet of 

circumstances, but will ride over ami lead i 

nil ditlici; Tic- Foi ; \-tii ith v. pment 

in which the right of election of offi 



MEMOIR OF WIIL/AM FRANCIS BART LETT. 53 

ognized. The formal election took place on the 
10th of November, 1862, and he was elected 
Colonel, receiving all the votes cast. The elec- 
tion took place at Camp Wool, at Worcester, 
Massachusetts, to which point the regiment had 
moved about ten days before. A short time 
after, he appeared with his first artificial leg. 

On the 28th of November, the regiment left 
Worcester, and proceeded by cars and boat to 
New York, from which it moved, on the 4th of 
the following mouth, to Camp Banks, on Long 
Island. Before it left the city, the regiment, in 
full dress, made a parade march up Broadway. 
The " Home Journal " of the day published an 
article Leaded, " A Colonel with a Crutch," from 
which the following extracts are taken, to show 
how Colonel Bartlett impressed a spectator at 
that time : — 

" Our own chief object of interest was the Colonel in 
command, armed, as we above mentioned, with the very 
unaccustomed weapon of a crutch. 

"The Colonel .... was mounted on a Vermont horse. 
.... The equipments, as well as the limbs of the rider, 
were apparently all complete, each long boot with its 
spur riding gracefully in its stirrup. Pistols and sword 
were in their places. At the horseman's back, however, 
poised like the long spear at the back of the lancer, 
swung the strange implement which told die story, — a 
long crutch with velvet handle, betraying the wooden 
leg for which it stood ready to do service With 



//: or wii.i.i a 1/ i r. 

wounds of hii amputation healed, th< 
turning t<> active duty, lead 
the field with an alacrity that was little like a ci pple." 

The I i l< at '. '.• em al h«»ld 

upon i iment. In the L I op, <»n 

the 6th of January, Mr. Johns wn "Daily 

he draws the reins of discipline tighter, but with 
such judgment that we are learning i<«n 

without complainin At this Bame camp he 

had b< perience of a command larger t' 

that of a regiment. When General Dank- Bailed 

Irleans with the bulk of t i 
tined for < • erations in that neighborhood, i 
of several thousand men was left behind for ;i 
while, ninler Genera] Andrews. General An- 
drews went to Boston twi this part of 
the • nary f< York, and each 
time he left Colonel Bartlett, though a junior 
colonel, in command One of these al 
lasted for bus days, and thus the young I 
was pla '1 in a position of much resp< nsibi 
and of no little labor. The following letters d 
from this period, and descril life, and the 
manner in which, at the age of twenty-two, he 

erted himself to perform every duty which de- 
volved upon him. 

Ill IDQU \i:i i Rfl Ki M MM'i :: BAN! 
N<>. lDWAT, N l w V<»i:K. D 

.... irda myself, I ride with ease, hardly 

with comfort Mj 'Id. fracl 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 

Ke is a valuable beast, of great strength, endurance, and 
mettle. But I am not exactly in condition now to break 
a wild brute. He rears with me, jumps, etc. My 
friends beg - me not to ride him, and I have not mounted 
him for a week. My man, a splendid horseman, rides 
him hard every day, and is breaking him. I am looking 
for another one, more gentle, and may keep both. It is 
a delightful sensation to me, to move about on a horse 
after hobbling around on crutches so lonu - . 

You will wonder at the heading of this letter. Gen- 
eral Andrews sent for me and desired me to take com- 

£ 

mand dming his absence of a week or so, notwithstand- 
ing my telling him that my commission must be one of 
the youngest of the eight still here. So that my com- 
mand is just now about eight thousand, — rather ridicu- 
lous, is n't it? ... . My regiment I am getting into 
excellent order. I drill the non-coms, in the manual, 
an hour every morning, standing on one leg. In the 
afternoon, I drill the whole line in the manual an hour 
and a half. I visit the guard every night after twelve, 
to see that the officer of the guard and day are doing 
their duty, etc., etc. The officers and men are all inter- 
ested in their work and everything goes well 

Headquarters Remainder Banks' Expedition, 
No. 19-4 Broadway, New York, January 3, 18G3. 

.... A great many perplexing questions have come 
up during the week, involving heavy responsibilities, — 
the ordering of the various ships to sea, — telegraphing 
ivith the Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of 
War in regard to duties on coal, etc., etc. 

I have kept a stiff upper lip. Imagiue me being 



Will. J A M I /'. 

u - k- I for advice and authority to do this and I 

( mmodore Van Bnuit, Commodore Vanderbilt, U. 8. 

qiiartermasten here, and "rich lil In ■ f 

il.-iiltt, which have required my authority and <! 

I have kept an old maxim of mint me. I>'» thai, 

which according to yonr impartial judgment, 

lo promote the ' 

It has carried me aafely through bo far 

On ill-- 24th ft* January, 1863, the regiment 
sailed for New Orleans in tin- Bteamer / 
They had very bad weather for a week, and 
tin- country-bred men of Western Massac! 
who filled the ranks suffered i from 

dckness. When the vessel had 1 Key 

\W . ami had gotten into smo A h< 
Colon. -1 did a wise thing for the health <>i his 
men. On tin- Is! of February, Sunday, he wril 
in his journal: "As cleanliness is nexl to godli- 
ness, I think I have observed the day \. ry welL 
I have had every man in the regiment tl bly 

washed. I had one company at a time marc] 
up forward, Btripped, and a stream of Ball \\;: 
from the Large force pump and hose played over 
thrm I sate <>nt forward in the sun super- 
intending it nil thf morning until thn -k." 

On tin- 7th «■!' February the regiment reached 
New Orleans, ami at once moved up the river 
to Carrolton, where General Emory's Division 
was encamped, but it did not disembark and 

into ramp until the 9th. Thing 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 57 

been poorly managed in the Department of the 
Gulf at that time, for Colonel Bartlett records on 
the 7th that supper was the first meal he ate 
that day, and again on the 11th : " I had no way 
of getting breakfast this morning when I got 
up, so I went without. The same at dinner-time, 
so I went without, and till six P. M. I did not 
put a mouthful of anything to eat or drink hi my 

mouth I wonder what a row there would 

be if a private soldier had to go without eating 
for twenty-four hours. I am glad to find I can 
do it with ease in case of need." 

On the 14th of the same month he estab- 
lished in his camp the practice of the field, staff, 
and company officers reporting to the Colonel at 
reveille. He had seen this custom followed in 
the camp of the Twentieth Regiment, and there 
learned its value. 

The camp was on low ground, and the rains, 
which were frequent, laid it under water. On 
the 15th of February, it was a foot under water, 
and the ridge on which the Colonel's tent stood, 
was, he says, actually the only land in sight. 
The state of the weather made it hard for every 
one, and interfered with work. It was little bet- 
ter in the tents than outside. 

On the l<>th, orders came to proceed by steamer 
to Baton Rouge, It was dark when the embar- 
kation began. Colonel Bartlett stood up over 
the gangway superintending the work on the bag- 



58 MEMOIR CF WILLIAM TB KALI LI 

and :it about I morn- 

1 e fell asleep Bitting on the rail, and it ■■ 
till four in the morning, when everything 
was <>ii board, that he left the deck. < >n the 
L 8th, the regiment arrived at Baton R • and 
encamped on vei 1 ground as a pari of 

first bri jade of Augur's I )i\ Lsi »n. 

( )n the 22d of February, he wa ral offi- 

cer of bhe day for the drat time, and be \ 
hours in the saddle visiting the outp Hie 

fatiguing duty did not tire him so much that 
he did not find time and di draw ■ 

very intelligible Bketch of the roads in the neigh- 
borhood, and of the position of the n On 
tin- 24th he writes: " I should 1m- content to fa 
it rain to-morrow, that I might write all d 
Otherwise my duties self-imposed keep me 1 
all the time. I am glad enough ; 
ut nine o'clock, and Borry enou hear the 
roll of the drum which makes m< 

\. m The regiment is improving con- 
stantly. I keep ut work on them all the time. 
Jt is consoling t<> know and feel that I am doing 

the countrj Buch g 1 Bervice as making soldi* 

tor he 

l: ih«> 1th of March lie had brought the i 

m. -ut into BUch condition that they not only ;ip- 

peared to advantage on parade ami ;it review, 
inding Bteadily and marching well, hi: 

his satisfaction in chai ml firii 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 59 

and lie toll them "if they would only do as well, 
keep as steady, and lire as coolly in a real action 
as they did then, not fire until they got the word 
from me, no matter how near the enemy might 
approach them, — when they did fire, aim low, at 
the enemy's knees (if near), — they need not be 
afraid of anything under heaven in the shape of 
an enemy." And he adds: "I only hope I shall 
not get shot until after I have had the regiment 
in one good fight, for really they seem to be so 
entirely dependent upon me, that if I should get 
knocked over at first, I don't like to think what 
would become of them." 

On the 7th of March, he conducted a wa.o-on 

7 o 

train a few miles beyond the outposts, himself 
commanding the escort, which comprised his own 
regiment, a troop of cavalry, and a section of 
artillery. All his dispositions were made with 
much judgment and intelligent care, and the 
expedition returned safe and successful. 

On the 14th of March, the army began its 
march towards Port Hudson. Colonel Bartlett 
kept his men from plundering, and they thought 
it was hard. He writes: " The men made sad 
work with the poultry and stock. This army will 
be demoralized if this is allowed to go on. My 
regiment think it hard that they are not al- 
lowed to go in and plunder, when everybody 
else does ; and it is. They not only steal poultry 
and other live meat, but in some cases even go 



WILLIAM FRA I MlTl.Ll I . 

into i be houses and take the food off I he 
and BteaJ jewelry and other valus i , I will 
first man I see doing it, and take the 

sequen I rippled as he was, he w 

tough in those days, and very patient < 
M I lia<l been in the Baddle in I be 

morning, twelve hours, but it made me laugh 
myself at hearing other officers complain of being 
all tired out, This movement upon P 

Hudson w;is not attended with any fighting of 
consequence, and the troops soon returned 
Baton : but the Forty-ninth Regiment had 

igned to it some fatiguing duty in the v> 
especially by acting as a part oi the advanced 
guard in the retreat, which it wras Bupposed thai 
. would attempt to interrupt at a bayou 
which crossed the line of retreat. Ill-judged 
orders brought the command nearly to the • 
haustion point, and fatigue and exposure \ 
nearly put their colonel on the sick List. On 

b lie wrote: •• I fee] v.tv mis rably this morn- 
It was a struggle to get up. Very w 
and dizzy. I hope il is not Bickness coming. I 
have lost all appetite, and only i it is 

b duty, not that I am hungry." A little 1; 
mi the ame day, occur these affecting lines : "I 
ironder it* these men who go to the hospital and 

oil duty feel half as weak and ill as I do jusl 
1 utter more in ease of an . of weaki: 

Or illness than when I had tWO It takes all 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BAIiTLETT. 61 

fche strength and vigor of a healthy man to drag 
round this c ball and chain ' of a leg. My leg has 
pained me more than usual lately. No one shall 
know it, though." The instances are extremely 
rare in which, even in the confidence of his pri- 
vate journal, he makes any reference to the loss of 
his leg. On the 24th of April, 1863, he writes: 
" Just one year ago to-day at this hour, eleven 
A. M., I lost my leg at York town. It was just such 
a day as this. It seems a short year, notwith- 
standing all the suffering I have gone through." 
With these few words he leaves the subject. 

His life went on busily, and with little comfort, 
and little pleasure other than the consciousness of 
doing his duty and improving his regiment. He 
read the service to his men on Sundays, accom- 
plished them in shooting, drilled them constantly, 
and by such little matters as causing them to 
wear white gloves on parade he gave them an air, 
and made them feel increased pride in their per- 
sonal appearance. 

In a letter to Governor Andrew, written at this 
Ume, in reply to one in which the Governor re- 
quested him to appoint a chaplain, he showed his 
usual sense and tact : — 

The position of chaplain I consider one of the most 
difficult to fill, and I have seen such evils follow from 
the presence of inefficient or unworthy chaplains (not iu 
Massachusetts regiments), that I have hesitated to noui- 



62 WILLIAM 

inate any one for thai position, nnli I <>ne 

who was qualified I »< » 1 1 1 in cfa and abi 

an ■ V.. 'i! 

the Sabbath i 
i i the regular <lu; ; 

:i- guard-mounting, Sunday morning i d, and 

hich are never omitted ; bul 
it i- a day i 

I have :i!- ifforded every opportunity for the 

to attend divine worship on thai daj . 1 
read the services myself <>n that day to all who 
to attend, it being i the duties of tlie commanding 

officer in the absence <>t':i chaplain. 

In the matter of the white gloves, also, lie 
Bhowed bi Mr. Johns says that the men 

did 1 1 • • i purchase them without Bom 
linn, buf thai tin- Colonel did not compel any 
man to purchase them, but that he und< 
thai he Bent for one of the malcontents ai 
liiui a pair, and that he heard of no trouble ai 
ward-. It may be remarked thai the Forty-ninth 
Iment was not only a bine monl iment, 

lnu that it Beems to have Itch made up of men 
who did uot expect to jo any of the usual 

privileges of citizens while they were in the mili- 
of the United States, and thought 
that all questi >ns arising in camp Bhould 1 
tied by a town mei is much as in the vil- 

me from, and that to | y dis- 

cipline Buch men was a task of peculiar deli- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 63 

»( y. The neatness and cleanness which Colone* 
Bart Iclt taught his men to observe not only im- 
proved or preserved their health, but increased 
their self-respect. He gave his personal atten- 
tion to every work npoi which his men were em- 
ployed. Mr. Johns says: "The soldierly neat- 
ness of our Colonel is apparent in the superiority 
of our rifle-pits over those thrown up by other 
regiments. With spade in hand, he showed us 
how the work should be done. Our pits are as 
finished as if they were parts of a permanent foi- 
tification." 

From the 12th to the 15th of May, he notes 
that he is not well, and then for four days he 
makes no regular entry, but writes thus in pen- 
cil : " Never felt worse in my life. Never took 
so much medicine. Worse and worse until Tues- 
day, May 19th." Then he writes : — 

Moved into the house near my tent I am 

threatened with typhoid. Horrible pain in my head al_ 
day. Orders to-night, unfortunately, for us to march at 
five a. m. to-morrow. Dr. Winsor (the regimental sur- 
geon) says it is impossible for me to go. I must go. I 
know the risk is great, but I have got to take it. If I 
;illed, or wounded, or die of fever, people will say it 
wa< rash, etc. I know my duty, though, better than any 
one else. Colonel Chapin lias offered me the use of a 

spring wagon to ride in. I shall go in that 

Wednesday, May 20. Got up at five. Could hardly 
Stand. The regiment started. Dr. Winsor begged me 



: M FRAK 

I I 

1 tlid i. ! . \V. rode on I I 

( ipin, and find oat if it w I 

on my horse and II. 

mile when I met tl coming back. He said 

car: iroken, bn( would 1"- aloi 

me get off and go into the m I 

waited and waited hours, and then _ *i that 

had by Borne mistake . a, ami was by 

time with tlic train. There was nothing I but 

go home or keep on horseback. I i 
latter, and go as far as I could. It was now : 
heat of the daj I better, and kept on 

to the Bayou Mbntesino of h • nown. I 

at Mr. Pike's house, win I ; very i 

dially. I stayed to dinner, and passed ili<- wh 
tli< i pleasantly. About four, a mat 

I In' had been 1 | I 

nel Chapin had sent him back, not irn without 

s • S adman rode Billy ami led Ned : and, havii 

l-by to my kind friends (thou s 
on our long ride. Tin- dust J inch* 

W< i iched tli' uniM d m :1 '" :nif: - 

about dark. The hearty cl which they gave when 

they Baw me come into cam]) wen' p] had 

i very Mm- nil day, tin- officers 

' If \\ ily had the Colonel alo I had a pn 

i fell ]>: 
had said I would have a high fever it' I attempted to 
come. 

77" . May 21. Ordered to move at -:\ a. m. I 

rod*- in the i kept the li up, in cat 1 uld 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 65 

want them. We had advanced about three and a half 
miles, when we were saluted by some shells from rebel 
batteries ahead. I immediately got on my horse Billy. 
I had to be pretty careful to keep my balance, as I felt 
very shaky still. 

II was fortunate for the regiment that Colonel 
Bartlett's determination caused him to be present 
with them upon this occasion ; for, though the 
affair of this day, dignified with the name of the 
Battle of Plain's Store, was not a serious one, 
and cost the regiment only three men wounded 
slightly, yet it was the regiment's first experience 
of battle, and they were threatened for many 
hours with immediate attack, and were exposed 
for a part of the time to artillery fire. What was 
worse, an ill-disciplined and feebly commanded 
nine months' regiment, which was in front of the 
Forty-ninth, broke to the rear and rushed through 
its centre company while Bartlett was endeavor- 
ing with his regiment to stop the rout, and so 
divided the right wing from the left. He gave 
his regiment a valuable lesson by drilling them 
in tin 1 manual, at a moment which could be so 
used, and thus restored or increased their self-pos- 
session. It would seem that the exertion called 
for .Hid gallantly made was good for him also, as 
for the next few days, and till he was wounded 
in the assault upon Port Hudson on the 27th, his 
journal contains no reference to his health. The 
following letters give many interesting details of 

5 



WILLIAM 11: Ui 1.1 IT. 

hie camp Life, b the Oral It upon I' 

Hudson : — 

< ' \MI' I 

.... I am gradually getting • imenl into si 

] F, and company officers report r 

morning immediately after reveille^ as we of 3 
to - Little Bill Lee," and yon. All the littli 
thai we picked nj> together I am working in. Any 

_ • - : * 1 1 1 knows, thai if he should :i j >] •• •: 1 1- on guard- 
mounting or dress parade, with liis whit 
he would have to take thai lozenge out of hie 
rons. I hai e only had to reduce two 

I took tin- regiment. Thai for " absence without 
leave." Ben Bends me an orderly every morni 
splendent with brass and blacking 

Headquarters Forty-Nihtb bt, M. V. .M. 

( 'ami- B \nks. BATOS ! 

Di lb Mother, — 1 wrote you last on the 2 
Sunday, March 1, was a beautiful day. Ben and I 
took a ride in the afternoon. Went down to tl 
uj) ti> General Dwight's quarters. Fl< tchi A' 
Charley Dwight rode home with ns. I stopped at the 
Fiftieth Regiment Sam Duncan is not I 
of 1!.' ir c impanies are down tl at quarantine ; he 

ith them, and the Lieutenant-colonel. Poul 

Chickering called to e [ D 

parade was th( vex had. I felt very pron 

them, the result of my instruction and discipline 
thin... General Augur ram-- op to-day. March -. I 
saw him a few minu 

Maarch mtit'ul weather still. In the evening 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 67 

*ve sat out around the fire in the rear of my tent, 
smoking our pipes ; bright moonlight ; the nights are 
very cold, although the days are so hot. 

March 4. This morning orders came for a review 
in " heavy marching order," by General Augur. I 
cautioned the men to "polish up," and at half past twc 
we turned out, as fine a looking line as you often see. 
The men stood very steadily, and marched very well. 
After going back to camp and leaving the knapsacks, 
etc., I took them out to practice with blank cartridges. 
At first they were nervous, and did poorly, but after 
I had given them a very severe talking to, I tried them 
again at charging in line, and they did it splendidly. 
Their fire by battalion was like one gun. I then formed 
a hollow square, and fired from all sides. My horse, 
inside the square, behaved beautifully. I don't care 
to see any better drilling than they did after my lec- 
ture. After we came into camp I closed column and 
explained to them that if they would only do as well 
as that in real action, keep cool, and not fire until they 
were sure they had the word from me, no matter how 
near the enemy approached — when they did fire, aim at 
their opponents' knees (if near), — there was no enemy 
in the world that could stand against them, etc. 

I hope they will remember all I said. They prom- 
ised, and were very much excited, and cheered loudly 
for the drill. There is nothing more important than 
to accustom men to firing, and getting used to the noise. 
What I taught them this afternoon was of more use tc 
them, and will do them more good than all the brig- 
ade drills under Colonel Chapin, with unheard of and 
iseless movements. 



WILLIAM 11:.. \ . . i 1. 

Thii regiment i> 10 entirely dependent upon mi 
I hope I shau'l gel hit, for I dread to think whal 
them if I - h < » u I < I gel pal /< 
iera] I >\\ ighl has been tr\ ing . imi ot 

in his b : he wt , bul Au 

won't coi i I"-'* it. 

I hasten to get this in :i mail which 
Orleans to-d With much 1" 

w. i. B. 

Hi \injr \i:i i.i;s FORXl mm n Ki.-.imi m, M \'. M. 
IP 1!.\m, .1: I. a. 

Di \i: M<> i in i: : — .... 

March 5. Splendid weather still. 1 Mi I v. 
the brigade of some general instead oi Colonel Chaj 

Mel Chapin in the afternoon. He laid Augur com- 
plimented my regiment and the Oik- Hundred ami 
Sixteenth very highly. Went I oo, 

pretty tired. 

trdat/i March 7. ( )nl< mornii \ 

I was up, tn go out with m; 
guard ' : train outside the lines. There r 

t<» me quite a little force for the expedition, which I dis- 
ci of as follows: In advance [ & I a I dry, 
.M I ree'a Massachusetts, armed with carbines and 

d companies of tfa -ninth R giment, 

under Lieutenant-colonel Sumner. N on of a 

battery of i 
rifled. Then came the train of seveuty-fi\ 

thing half a mile. In rear of these, tb 
of tip- Forty-ninth, under Major Plunkett, as rear 
guard. The whole command nearly a mile 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. o'9 

T rode ahead with the cavalry advance guard. It was 
quite a pretty little force. Captain Hodge, Assistai t 
Quartermaster, U. S. A., Had immediate charge of the 
wagon train. We marched about three miles beyond 
the outposts, fairly into the enemy's country. The 
plantation where we were going for wood, dried and 
corded, belonged to a Dr. Laycock. It covers about a 
thousand acres. He raises splendid sugar, molasses, and 
cotton. 

Just before we got to the place, the Clay Cut road, 
which we were on, turns to the right, and you approach 
the plantation through a thick belt of woods by a narrow 
avenue. 

I sent half a dozen troopers up the Clay Cut road 
half a mile, to halt and keep on the look out. I sent 
one company of the Forty-ninth up the same road quar- 
ter of a mile, to support them, give alarm, and resist at- 
tack. I then rode through the woods with the cavalry, 
and found everything clear. The house stands in the 
middle of a large clearing of fifty acres of perfectly level 
land, a fine mansion, newer and in better repair than 
most of the southern houses I have seen. The owner 
was on the verandah when we rode up. He is a pro- 
fessed Union man, has a safeguard from the General, 
etc. While waiting for the column to come up, he in- 
vited me and the officers who were with me, two of 
General Augur's staff, Ben and Dr. Rice, to go in and 
take some whiskey. 

The others went in; I went on with the cavalry to the 
other side of the clearing, where the wood of many years' 
seasoning was piled. It was near the sugar-house, 
vhich was filled with sugar and molasses. Here I 



70 " WILLIAM 

the infantry and artillery, and vri nt frith 
to the farther 
old dark* \ told me that i; 
liim in the morning, u littl«* whil- 
and him it' there lia<l been any 1 

there lately. I divided the 

guard in g the three approaches t«> tl i kept 

squad with me. I posted I • it 

could 1i«>1<1 two rod lei the d 

while the teams were being loaded. I 
hour and a half. When we w< . I 

ted the rear guard, now ; the advance, then 

the teams, then the artillery and infantry, and afl 
were well off, I drew in the out] and 

followed with the cavalry. 1 da the enemy - 

thing us all tlif time, l»n • determined not 

molest as. I was rather hoping they would, foi I 
.ill prepared for it, and had a \ tty little force 

under my command^ We L r "t back to camp about I 
p, m.. after a very pleasant little trip ln( 
accomplishing all we went out for, and returning without 
loss. The men got their canteens filled with ri 
Orl< ; ; ij>, and Bugar enough 

for many da 

/<///. March 8. A beautiful day. [n : : 
i n Ben and I took a ride down to the town. A 

it lnin;. come op lately. I Bupj 

shall in"-- e up the river After d 

I >rmed a hollow square :m<l read the 
Doctor dined with us to-night. We had a 

ik, fried pol tea, and rice. I «l«>n't k- 

•rhai more you could ask I >r breakfast this morn- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 71 

ing I had the same thing you did, fried hasty pudding, 
with better molasses. To-morrow morning it will be 
fried rice, mid the next day fried hominy, then back to 
Indian pudding again. A variety you see. 
I am wry well all over. Love to all. 

Affectionately, W. F. B. 

March 9. Orders to move at once, with two days' 
cooked and live uncooked rations. No baggage or tents; 
6ixty rounds of ammunition per man. I don't know 
where we are going, I suppose Port Hudson. 

Love to all. Good-by. W. 

HEADQUARTERS FORTY- NINTH REGtMKNT M. V. M. 

Camp Banks, March 24, 1863. 

My dear Motiier: — This is the first time I have 
had, wdien I could get at any paper, to write you since 
our return from Port Hudson. I will copy from my 
journal which I took with me. I wrote you last on 
the 12th. 

That day were reviewed Grover's and Emory's Divis- 
ions. It took till one o'clock from eight. I saw Gen- 
eral Andrews a few minutes. He has been made Chief 
of Staff to General Banks. A very good thing. He is 
just the man Banks needs. Spoke to General Banks a 
few minutes. After the review. I rode over to the camp 
of the Rhode Island Cavalry, and "drew," by simply re- 
ceipting for it. a line McClellan saddle and bridle. By 
■ ay, I wish, father, you would go to Baker's and tell 
him that the saddle and bridle he sold me at such a big 
price is a swindle. The brass parts are iron merely 
tovered over with a flimsy plating of brass foil, which 
peels off, in pieces, making it look worse than noth- 



;_' mi \i WILLI A M FJU 

. the case <•!' the bi 
the hi I he 

many of the Btraps breaking at the l< 
will have to look out for hi> reputation and i I! 

! he I would ii<)t want i. inch 

am affair. This one that I have di 

i leather: th<- buckles and bite of blu< 
all I want is my Becond horse, and m; 
is complete. I have not need th 
it is for my groom Vantassel. I I 
for a good horse ever since I ,L r <>t. out here; bs 
found him yet 1 don't expect, o 
my black beauty, only a - 
the groom, to go with me when I ride. I would ride 
the second one Into action, too, so as d< 
Bhot The mess pail reached me last 
delight I did not expect it so soon. It is px 
Bplendid. Just what I wanted. J d 
one. The tea, too, is so much than whal we b 

had to drink, I wish you had sent mo 
live in great Btyle now. This morning for insl . I 
don't want a better breakfast Nic 
fried hasty pudding, u crispy," better than 
it at, home ! The other night I made a 
merely poured boiling water on the meal, a little salt, 
and Btood it up in front of the fire to bake. It h 

indsed, and with butter, and honej "drawn" from 
>oring bee-hivi ibout as good f< i d as 

they make in these quarters. We don't always live like 
this. Sometimes it is nothing but dry bread and mo- 
lasses for da 

In regard to my saddle, and riding, I have got it well 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 73 

arranged. You know the upper edge of my wooden leg. 
coming against the hard saddle, used to cut through my 
pants every time I rode. I had patches of cloth put 
on, and afterwards patches of leather, but it even cut 
through these, by riding two or three hours. I then got 
a leather padded covering which tits on the seat of the 
saddle, making the saddle look more dressy and finished, 
and at the same time covering the wood, so that with a 
leather patch on my pants now, it does not wear through 
at all. Fletcher Abbott gave me the leather saddle- 
cover. To go back to my journal. 

Friday, March 13. Howard Dwight called to see me 
this afternoon. Grover's Division has started. We 
shall start to-morrow. 

Saturday, March 14. Got the order at midnight to 
start at three a. m. It made a wild picture in the dark 
morning, the camp fires blazing high, surrounded by dark 
fo/ms. A little piece of the old moon just rising in the 
east. We bade good-by to the camp, marched through 
the town, and about daylight struck the Bayou Sara 
road towards Port Hudson. We knew then for the first 
time in which direction we were going. 

It was very pleasant marching in the cool of the 
morning through the heavy woods. The road was per- 
fectly straight, and we could see it narrowing until the 
trees on each side seemed to meet, miles ahead. About 
nine a. m. we reached the river, Bayou Montesino. 
Two bridges crossed it, a pontoon and a plank. At this 
time, General Banks passed through the lines to the 
front. All was silence. I could not help thinkii 
the time, nearly a year ago, when we were marching in 
the dame way, on a read very similar, towards Yorktown, 



WILLI 

\\!i. ■! Mi ( lellan j. 

miles and mill W 

>me time for thi 
i we ha a farm-house, fourteen mi' 

I [ud8on. The men d . with t 1 

I army will be demoral 
pill allowed to L r " on. My at think it 

hard thai I won't let them L r " in and plunder v. 
: v body doing it Th< only 

.1 poultry and other live meat, bul in Bomi 
into the houses, and take the i<»><\ off the tab] 
jewelry, and other valuables. I believe in 
the enei intry," bul the beef and other I 

■ iken by the proper officers and i 
as it is required, not slaughtered i on- 

touched to waste. Besides, it is the moral effect on 

pS, if tl allowed I and kill, cadi 

him* it. They Boon 1" and ui:_ 

— an armed mob. 

My regiment -hall not pillage in thi 
other regiment in this army d< 

These people will be likely to favor the advance of a 
federal army, if their houses are to be ra . furni- 

ture broken, etc., by a mob of 
ade their door. Hanks must public 

order to stop this thing, or I would n'l auch for hi> 

army in a month's time 

the above a w< an order has 

d issued to remedy this evil. It i> not 

We marched a few miles farther and went into biv- 

ua<\ in a 1 n field, ami pitched tl. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIB BARTLEIT. 75 

I had been in the saddle since three in the morning, 
twelve hours, but it made me laugh to myself, at hearing 
other mounted officers complain of "being all tired out," 
etc. I found a good place for the horses in a barn near 
by, and then lay down on the grass and fell asleep, 
waiting for the wagon with my tent and food to come 
up. Got the tent pitched about sundown. Some hay 
made a luxurious bed, into which I crawled as soon as I 
had attended to everything, which was near nine P. M. 
Grover's advance is within four or five miles of the 
enemy's works; Emory's between us and Grover. I 
went to sleep the moment I touched the ground. Was 
awakened at eleven by heavy cannonading at the front, 
towards the river. It was the gunboats. We slept 
after this with one eye open, hearing the terrific roar of 
artillery. 

At two in the morning, I was ordered to get the regi- 
ment under arms and into line. It was now Sunday 
morning, 15th. We expected we were going straight to 
the front. The cannonading was still going on, but was 
on the river, down nearer to us. Colonel Chapin came 
to me and told me that we had been repulsed with great 
loss. He ordered me to take the advance, to clear the 
road back, with two regiments of infantry and a section of 
artillery. They were afraid that our passage back would 
be disputed at the bridge across the Bayou Montesino, 
by the enemy's coming down on the Clinton Road, to 
tut us off. 

I was told to make for that bridge as fast as possible, 
and hold it. 

Just after we started, I saw an aide of General Emory's, 
who told me that we had n't " got a gunboat left, and the 



Will. I A 1/ 1 U : '■ IT. 

\\x\w\ ; Me, 

hould have been ord< m( if ti 

bad been any r of the land 

thia time a tremendous report came from the ri 
oarter of a mile on our right, and ; shells 

oed to bore! directly over our 1 • ! 

when Bhe blew ap, ght 

med to give indica 
yhtened, and were rushing and crowding 
with their teams, blocking uj» the road. 

1 q| ahead and ordered the wagon train to be 

_ ips of a mile u n hich I had 

lose ap. At lasl I _ ; the troops and artillery 
.t. The Forty-eighth had been ordered I 
ahead, and they were in Buch a hurry that I. not ovei 
ing them, sent Ben ahead them till wi ap. 

When Bayon we found it all cl< 

-till there. The plank bridg 
lir, and 1 left the Major with two companies to put it 
in order and make it Bafe for the t< 

opany across on to the Clinton Road to iinst 

any attack of cavalry on <>ur flank. After th<- wa| 

i was well n]». I k«-j)t on, intendii way 

into Baton Rouge. AAerwehad marched a mile or 1 
an order came from Banks to halt until further ord 
I ■• aited two hours, and then had orders Baton 

ft into camp. Meantime I heard from an 

ip that, as I Bupposed, the repo 

•. o of our gunboats had bu 1 in 

»rt. Tl ssij>i>! had ind, 

i Bet on fire, floated down, and M<>wn up. We bad 
within a few rods of our old camp, the men v, 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 77 

tired, having been marching since three a. iff., when an 
order came to me to turn round and march back to the 
Bayou again. 

This was rather discouraging, but there was no help 
for it. I let the men rest an hour, the artillery feed 
their horses, etc. We got back to the Bayou about half 
past four We met Banks and his stall' going into 
Baton Rouge as we were coming out. Charley Sargent 
stopped and told me that they had done what they in- 
tended to ; get the gunboats by. Banks had sent de- 
spatches by Farragut to Grant at Vicksburg. The plan 
had been to draw the enemy out to fight us at Port Hud- 
son, but he had refused offer. I know howeyer that 
Banks was frightened in the morning, for I saw the or- 
der from him himself, ordering the trains to the rear, and 
back to Baton Rouge as soon as possible. I felt safe 
from the first, for Banks has made so many good re- 
treats that he must understand it, pretty well. We went 
into camp on the south side of the Bayou, in a large 
cornfield. I did n't get off my horse till after five ; in the 
saddle nearly fourteen hours the second day. It began 
to rain now. and the field was soon two or three inches 
deep with water and mud. I had just got off my horse 
when I received an order, saying that the Forty-ninth 
and Fiftieth Massachusetts regiments would be in read- 
to march to-night or to-morrow morning on an im 
portant expedition, under command of Colonel Bartlett. 
J was to report immediately to Banks at Baton Rouge, 
for instructions. I knew that it was absolutely impossi- 
ble for the men to march in the condition they were, all 
used up ; no chance for sleep in the night on account of 
the rain, etc. 



78 U WILLIAM 

1 ght i' was rather u rubbing it 

ride all the 

ructions, after I bad been o 
Ding, and il was by this time dai I .. 
here again, and by the tin* I 
new tramp. 

I --lit Ben over to Augur*s I U adqu 
whence the order came, to explain that \u : 
I in, had been marching all d 

and back. II«- Baid certainly 

. in it 1 did not know they had been marchii 

•• had designated ( lolonel i ind 

of tin- expedition as a compliment," etc. Thi 

all very pleasant, and if it bad been at ther 

time I Bhould have liked nothi 

much exhausted, and I wa 
the least I >me rail- to k< ■• p i 

which waa two or three inches deep in tl. , and 

• on these, like a log, till rei eille\ 
I could hardly realize it when Borne one mend 
thai it was Sunday. So different from tin' quit 

'/>/!/. 1 •'■///. Stopped raining this morning and the 
sun ia mi! very hot. I am sitting in the si f my 

tent, writing up my journal. I wonder \\\ first 

reports of this affair will 1>«' in the Northern pa] 
They will Bay nothing about the order to I im- 

agine. ( iolonel Clark of I tnded in 

the leg day 1»« ; berday, <>ut at th<' front Bomewfa 

quarters in thi 
Maine Fan to fight their b • in- 

id ofpushh tly by. Parragul is to wait ah 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 79 

Port Hudson until Banks communicates with him, which 
was the object of the expedition I was selected to com- 
mand, to cross the river and go up above Port Hudson 
on the other side. 

Tuesday^ \~t1i. Ben and I took a bath in a stream 
back of our camp. Banks publishes in orders that "the 
Hartford and Albatross passed the fort safely, and lie an- 
chored above. The object of the expedition is accom- 
plished." 

I expect that the first news which reaches the North 
will be through rebel sources, announcing the destruc- 
tion of our fleet, etc. 

Wednesday, 18th. Slept on my gridiron of rails till 
late this morning, not feeling well. Three hours of a 
cool northern breeze, and a good dinner at home or at 
Parker's, would make me all right. What must it be 
here in July ! We are likely to find out, I guess. When 
we came away from Baton Rouge I left my little leather- 
covered pocket flask on my bed. It was dark and no 
one saw it, to bring it along. I would not have lost it 
for anything, I have had it so long. Some nigger 
picked it up after we had gone, probably. While we 
were lying in the shade this afternoon, trying to keep 
cool, I began to make up some verses on the subject of 
th< i present expedition. Jt reminded me, our marching 
up to Port Hudson and then turning about and march- 
ing back again without lighting, of the 

" King of France with twenty thousand men 
Marched up the hill and then marched down. again." 

Perhaps 1 will send them to you, if you won't show 
them. We tried to make them absurd. You can't 
inderstand all the " hits." 



80 mi VOIR ! II. I If 

Ulov ill night 

r I hati 
will imagine my disgu 

r the blank taken off t! hi had 

n .i I should have chosen r bed than 

miii' One of my officers killed eight Bnak< 

i\ . < - bad eleven rati 

V afternoon the mess pail arrived. It qnitc 

me uj). 1 have f'.-lt better <••. I 

■ the first time. 
Friday^ March 20. I this month \ 

B '.n Rouge. ^ in about three p. ii. We 

our tents up and began to makeou at hom< 

urday, March 21. Rode down town this morning 
ee Dr. Winsor, whom we left Bick. He is much bet- 
ter : \\ ill be out in a few days. 

I invited G< _ WTieatland (of Salem), Major of the 
T ighth, to dine with me this evening. We dii 

six. I gave him a very good dinner. We used the 
mess pail; just right for three. I had a pork steak i 
young j » i lt - French bread, which Jacq 

and ch< . which the Latter m i ell, 

fried Bweet pol ly, boiled rice, butter, 

for i figs, coffee, and cigars, and a thimbleful of 

whiskey. II*- Bald it was the firel decent (tin had 

had since he hit Boston. The mail came this i 
too, a !• tter from Mother ami one from Anna an«l Nellie 
I'm: im. 

A///, flfarch 22. A beautiful morning, quite 
B inks went to rday ; his staff remains 

here still. A prisoner was brought in by my pi' 
this morning. He just came Hudson. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 81 

they have fifty thousand men there. They think we 
have about sixty thousand here. If they knew that we 
only had sixteen thousand fighting men here, perhaps 
they would drop in on us some morning. 

Monday, March 23. Raining. My bed being pretty 
comfortable I concluded to lie still until Jacques sum- 
moned, " Dejeuner tout pret. Monsieur le Colonel," at 
eight a. M. A nice one it was too. Dip toast, our reg- 
ular morning dish (we get a pint of milk now twice a 
day, ten cents per pint), and fried pudding. Fletcher 
Abbott and Charley Sargent called in the afternoon. A 
heavy shower coming up drove them off, and nearly 
spoiled our dinner, which you know is cooked out doors, 
on three or four bricks, just back of our tent. 

Tuesday^ March 24. Rode down to Baton Rouge, 
saw Dr. Winsor; he is much better, will be out soon. 
Banks' staff goes to New Orleans, to-day. A letter 
from Uncle Edwin last nisdit. Lieutenant-colonel Rod- 
man (New Bedford), Massachusetts Thirty-eighth, called 
this evening. 

Wednesday ', 25th. The prospect seems to be that we 
shall stay here quiet now for the present, unless at- 
tacked. It does not promise to be a very brilliant cam- 
paign. 

On Wednesday, May 27, 1863, Banks made 
Lis first disastrous assault upon Port Hudson. 
On this day Colonel Bartlett with bis regiment 
was with its brigade in a wood, and lie thus de- 
scribes the position and his experiences; and the 
record is the more solemn because he disapproved 
the movement and anticipated its failure : — 



WILLI 
•'['' ■ 

and then tl and t<» th< 

9 ii the i assault I 

wt just wliat sort of a place there woul< 
through — I had seen Rebel fortifi< I 

\ it would be almost imp brough ill" 

fallen I it' I w I ki 

being the only officer mounted, I should be much m 

npicuous. I knew that my chai 
small. But I had to go horseback, or do( at all. 
prayed that life and limb might 1 1. :in<! went in. 
. . . . We had :_ r "t two thirds across the Blaugl 
when, ju I was Bhouting to the men to b 
on tin- color, pop I went off my horse lik< 
\- for me, < rod had been \ id. I 

ed life, and most probably limb. The ball, a round 
luckily, struck in the }•>'. 
tlir bon< i. I" was very painful. The other wound \ 

ht A buck-shot struck the outside of my right 
ankle, and glanced down, entering the 8esh and 
through the Bole of my foot" 

The ball was cut from the wrist after i 
delay, and the wound dressed. \\*- was pla< 
in an ambulance, and carried to the river, and 
thence by steamboat to Baton Rouge, where he 
was j laced in bed in a house uear lii> old camp. 
These words from his journal are worth quoti 
for their simplicity : "The ride reminded m< 
mine from Yorktown to Shipping Point I 

fore. It was about nine miles, a rou 1." 

Again only this, and nothing D10 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 83 

Mr. Johns thus tells the story of the Colonel's 
experiences that day : — 

u The Colonel was on horsehack, the only mounted 
man in the field. He had to go that way or stay behind. 
With his regiment he would go. How he got through 
the ditches and over all the obstructions I cannot con- 
ceive. His little horse leaped obstacles that seemed 
insurmountable to any horse flesh. Struck with his dar- 
ing, it is said that the rebel officers commanded their 
men not to fire on him; but deadly missiles flew thick 
and fast in that valley of death into which duty led 
him, and, having gone about fifty rods, a bullet slightly 
wounded him in the heel of his good leg, and another 

shattered his left wrist It is said that when some 

one came to help him, he asked them, 'Did you see 
Billy ? lie jumped like a rabbit.' " l 

1 Extract from a letter of Colonel Walter Cutting, A. D. C. : — 
" An assault on the fortifications of Port Hudson by the Nine- 
teenth Corps, commanded by General Banks, was ordered for the 
'27th of May, 1863. It began on the left of the line, and about 
noon, on that day, General Augur's Division (the centre) was or- 
dered to assault t he works in line of battle! Colonel W. F. Bart- 
lett, commanding ihe Forty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, was 
in this division, and as, by reason of the loss of his leg, he could 
not e () mi foot over the half mile of felled timber and abatis, he, 
being uuwilling to let his regiment go without him, led it on 
horseback. Out of about three thousand men in the Division 
he was the only mounted man in the assaulting column. He fell 
wounded, as you know. A few days after, on being sent under a 
flag of truce to ask permission to bury our dead, I met a num 
■)f the Confederate officers from the fort, who came out to meet 
jne. After the formal preliminaries, some of them asked, ' Who 
\va- that man on horseback ? He was a gallant fellow ; ' ' a brave 



84 U OF WILLI A 1/ FRANi IB E 

wound in the \\ rial proved a painful and 

ere one, and very n 
)ii> ai in. It Buppurated verj id the dis- 

charge weakened him e the mi I hat 

the h< 'ii had now fully arri red. He 

mained at Baton Rouge [or about thri 

i there he received the best attention that i 
cu instances admitted; but everythL ma to 

have been mismanaged or neglected in that de- 
partment. He records that one evening he 
uj) till past ten, "waiting for the doctors, who 
were i . but didn't. Learned this morn 

■r\ drunk, the other taking care of him. 
Good medical attendance!" His journal mal 
almosl daily mention of the condition of the 
wound, 1'iit usually in the words. On the 

19th of June he writes at unusual Length: "The 
inflammation on the outside of my arm still con- 
tinues, and is quite painful. My 
that inflammation will set in, bo thai I Bhall I 
my arm above the elbow, or my life even. We 
must pray not." He told the writer somi years 
after, thai for a long time at this period men wi 
detailed to be with him day and night, and to 
keep ice melting drop by drop upon his wrist, and 

man ;' 'the bravcal and most darin 'one 

in the war,' e I I t<>M them it 

Bartli tt . , they said, * We thcmght him n a man to 

, «• kille ir men n « >t ' 

to me !' <>f them, and I, thinking "1 to 

be U» i, gave it to the newspaper i 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 85 

bo to keep down the inflammation. He also said 
that one day the surgeons at last decided that it 
was no longer safe to try to save the hand, and 
that they went away for their instruments, and 
that when they returned and began their prepa- 
rations for the operation, it was growing dark, and 
candles were brought. He had a feeling, it was 
nothing more, that if he was to lose another 
limb, he would like better to have it done by 
daylight, and he asked them if it would make any 
real difference if they should wait till morning. 
They said it would not, and went away. In the 
morning they returned, laid out their instruments, 
and removed the bandages. They looked at the 
arm, then looked at each other, then consulted a 
little, and then told him that they hardly dared 
to say so, but that they fancied it looked a mere 
shade better, and that at any rate they would 
wait till afternoon. In the afternoon, the same 
performance was repeated, and so on for several 
days. The arm never looked worse, and could 
hardly be said to look better, but by degrees that 
were almost imperceptible it improved, until at 
last its safety was declared. Thus by his respect 
for what seemed a mere caprice of the moment, 
or at best a sentiment, Colonel Bartlett had the 
great good fortune to escape adding the loss of an 
arm to the loss of a lee:. The wound healed com- 
pletely in time, but the wrist was permanently 
stiffened, and the use of some of the lingers of 
that hand was impaired. 



WILLIAM 

me he i '1 and i 1 the • 

'<•;. of B PC anient in 

\hi<iu<\ which General And] 
th> I department ( rulf. 

He lei Rouge by steamer in the evening 

! \ . Jul} 1 '.'. I [e write* : •• I i 
glad to leave any place before. I hope m 
in." I le reached New < Orleans 
next morning, and remained there three or four 
days. In the first twenty-four hours of hi 
three large pieces of bone came out of his arm. and 
he Buffered very much from the 
It ma;, atribution to the historj of 

the peri d, to quote the following lines written in 
his journal by the patient, uncomplainin 
dierly man, at the end of his stay in the Depart- 
ment of the Gulf: "It is the way everything 
managed or rather mismanaged in this depart- 
ment, which, it' Heaven ever permits me 
out of it alive, shall never be troubled by my 
presence again." 

< u' the following letters, the first i the 

wife of the Surgeon of t he i 

From a let ter from her husband to < 

father. The others are from Colonel 
Bartlett himself : — 

June 10, 

My drab Sir: — I have dates to-day to the ! 
I suppose you have the same, but — 

« May 28. ( & a ball in I 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 87 

illicit I took out; the bone is broken, but I am sanguine 
in the opinion that liis arm and hand can be saved. His 

pluck was splendid, and he thought far more of his regi- 
ment than of himself, lie is on his way to Baton Rouge. 
Lieut-colonel got a ball in the shoulder, but no bones 
broken." 

" May 29. General Augur said every officer there 
was brave, but ColonelBartlett the bravest, and one of 
his best colonels." 

- May 30, 7[, a. m. Colonel Bartlett was hit in left 
wrist by round musket ball, which went through from 
one side to the other, where I took it out. The hand 
will be saved." 

Baton Rouge, June 13, 1863. 
Deau Motiier : — I have improved very much within 
the last few days. My appetite has returned, and I feel 
much better every way. My arm is suppurating very 
freely under the application of warm woollen cloths, 
which act like a mild poultice. "All the doctors who 
look at my arm say it is doing finely. Even those who 
thought it was impossible to save the hand at first, think 
now there 1 is n't the least doubt. It will be a long time 
getting well, on account of the little pieces of bone, two 
of which came out this morning. I have no pain in the 
wrist now, except when it has to be moved. My foot is 
doing very well, almost all healed up, I keep simple 
cerate on that, some of my old supply. I had a long 
etter from Anna yesterday, from Baltimore. It was 
quite an interesting letter, — all but the writing; and 
that was amusing. You must write to Sallie for me a 
lew lines. Had a letter from Little too, dated the latter 
Dart of April. Have they published the account of our 



^> .1/ WILLIAM FRANCIS ■' 

he wort i 'I be New 
not been allowed to mention it. I>i'l u*l itify 

the many reba there. < reneral Augur told 
Bai other day, in Bpeaking I 

is the best colonel in bis Division, and he had ral 
have losl any other 

t aboul your one leg, I don't see but it i 
l> topic's two. I have heard other things, which, 
pondenl •• I am not at libertj 

divulge at present." 

I don't want all those st rawherri> 

I gel there. They have tin- mea 

the meanest tomatoes here that yon can imac e. I 

a mean place anyway, the whole v ■ and I Would n't 

live here for it. 

J long to get "lit <»n to Ball water; that will set me up, 
I expect Well, it won't he long now. I hoj I sup- 
■ noii an- all worrying yoursel 1 . by 

this time. Yon ought to have got my first letter now. 
Love to all. 

Your affectionate Bon, \V. 1-'. l'». 

The other officers, a- tar as I can find on:, are d 

very well, lien is well, at 1' was a day or • 

.-in 

Sunday, Juns 11. Feeling better. Big dinn< 

day. ( oloiicl Siimne: to Bee me U day. 1 1 

.loing well. 

Baton 1: 
.... You needn't let them know, if yon cai avoid 
it, that the wound in my wrist-joint is worse than I k 

of at first If I had been told just how bad the wound 



MEMOIR OF WILLI AM FRANCIS BAATLETT. 89 

was that afternoon on the field, I would have made the 
surgeon take off the hand without a second thought. 
The surgeon assured me so positively that I could save 
the hand, that I didn't think to ask, " At how great a 
risk, in how long a time?" I want the surgeons to take 
it off now, and let me get well, instead of running the 
risk of inflammation, and losing it above the elbow, or 

worse. The surgeons say, wait 

As to the assault, Frank, it was a very nasty fight. 
If Mr. Banks had been, as you and I had, at Howard's 
Bridge and Yorktown, he would have seen what sort of 
things rebel fortifications were. He had never seen any 
of any account (nor Augur either, but he was much 
opposed to storming the works). I had told myself 
quietly, long before we had the order to storm, just what 
sort of a place there would be to pass over after we 
cleared the woods, and just about what we should catch 
while we were scrambling over these obstacles. I was 
sorry to find with how much truth I had told myself 
that yarn. You know, Frank, just what it was. After 
you got to the edge of the woods, you could see the 
breastworks, two or three hundred yards distant. While 
waiting in the edge of the woods, we were beyond reach 
of their musketry, but the grape was profuse. The in- 
tervening ground was, as you have seen it, covered with 
trees ingeniously felled and cut up, so that they afforded 
no shelter, but were great obstacles. It was pretty hard 
getting through and over it on horseback. The rest you 
know. It was hard to keep a line where men had to 
pick their way and scramble over these things. I halted 
them two or three times for a few seconds, just to get a 
formation on the colors, which were carried beautifully. 



WILLI A U . 
• We 1 

llll!. ] 

killed or wounded 1 am glad to b< tr II 

doing well. Give my love to him. Tell him \ 

on the number of wounds i y it 

again to Bee who geta the rubber." .... 

He iled for New York in the Bteamer Ma 
. on tli' 1 23d of July, and reached porl on I 
31 at, after a very pleasant e, which did I 

good. For the next month he did little but to 
rest and enjoy himself, and recover his heal 
1 [is pe rimeni reached Pittsfield on th( 22 An- 
gust, and he rode at its head, with his woun 
arm in b box-sling, in the procession which 

ted it from the railway station, through the 
stre wii in which it was formed. It 

was mustered out of the service a few days la 
but it- muster-out did not brii its 

Colonel, for he had already accepted the colo- 
nelcy of the Fifty-seventh Regiment, M ihu- 
\ Volunteer Infantry, a regiment enlisted for 
three years or the war, which he was to i 
well as command. On the 26th of Septeml 

< . .verier Andrew told him that Secretary Stan- 
ton had expressed himself as much d with 

his mil'it iry carer, and had promised that as soon 

he had raised his regiment, he bIiouU havi 
brigadier-general's commission. Colonel Bart 
was then a little more than tuentv-tl: Bis 

mid contains not a word of exultation, only 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 91 

fchese simple words: "This was very gratifying, 
of course. I hope he will keep his promi 

For the rest of the year 1863, and until the 
middle of April, 1864, Colonel Bartlett remained 
in Massachusetts. The earlier portion of this 
period, at least, was one of the pleasant times of 
his life. His health was improving, his work was 
light, his position was altogether gratifying. 
After the responsibility and fatigue and discom- 
fort of his life in Louisiana, home with its pleas- 
ures and honors was a delightful change. It was 
at the close of this period that he became engaged 
to be married, though his engagement was not 
announced for some months. 

He was complimented by an offer which he 
thus records : — 

*i October 30. The Governor sent for me and asked 
if I would like to take the Fortieth Massachusetts Reg- 
iment, now at Folly Island, Charleston Harbor. He 
wanted some one to straighten it out. I told him if I 
was well enough to take the field now, I would." 

As the year 1863 drew to its close, he became 
much busier, as the formation of his new regi- 
ment advanced, and he began to spend much time 
at Worcester, where its camp was established. 
On the 7th of January, 1864, a fresh misfortune 
befell him. On the evening of that day, he be- 
came conscious that something was wrong with 



OF WJLLIA V ri: \ i r. 

ad thai side of his 
in Boston. ( hi the following day h< 
\Y . bnt, the affection continuing on the 

9th, he i a physician, who t"l<l him it 

was paralysis, prescribed an external treatment, 
and forbade him out or to read. His only 

comment is, "Pretty dismal. Wish I had 
liom On the next day he writes: "Kepi tlie 

house all day. My face the same, I don'1 know 
of anything I had not rather have than such an 
affliction as this. I thought I li;i«l endured enoi 
these last two years, but it seems not. Thi 
tlif worel of all. Not that I am proud of my 
faci 11 is not ;tt best a handsome one, but 

• all power of expression or motion on on 
and ii<.; be able to laugh or < i ;it withoul dis 
it. is lather hard." He left W< er in a day 

or two, and returned to his home, where he 
mained very quietly for the next 1 1 1 1 • 
His ailment Beems to have yielded readily 
treatment, for on the 29th he makes the sim- 
ple entry: " My face IS better. I e;in in 
it.*' After this lie Beems to have ]■■ I his 

osual habits of life. The affection ani>< 
have l used by a draught of cold air fi 

jui open window while lie work near a hot 

re. The physicians feared it might proi 
. lmt they woe mistaken, ami, ona . it 

rned. The ailment drew from his 



MEMOIR OF [VILLI AM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 03 

companion, Major Abbott of the Twentieth Mas- 
sachusetts, the following letter : — 

NBAS Si i:\insburg, Va., February 3, 186-4. 

My dea.r Fbank: — I have just heard thro ugh let- 
ters from home and by Slocum .Milton of your new 
misfortune, though nobody can tell me how serious the 
paralysis is, and of your pluck and cheerfulness in stand- 
ing it. Why, dear old fellow, you don't know how much 
we all sympathize with you, and how much we admire 
your resolution in bearing your sufferings. I trust the 
evil is not so serious as reports make it, but I know at 
the best it must be bad enough. It is your duty now to 
think only of your own case and how to alleviate it, and 
not fret about military matters. You have done and 
suffered enough, not for one man but for a hundred, and 
you ought to think of nothing but your own health. 
You know, of course, Frank, and it must be some com- 
pensation for your trials, you have won a name for ca- 
pacity and gallantry and heroism, as great as any man of 
your age in the whole army. God knows you have de- 
served it, and I don't believe he will allow it to be your 
only reward outside of yourself. You will weather it 
all, so that you can enjoy as much physical comfort as of 
old, in the possession of your laurels. For Heaven's 
sake, don't be rash again in the smallest particular. I 
was afraid when I saw you at home this last time, you 
were overtasking your strength, and you are well enough 
aware that it is your tendency to think too little of that 
body of yours, which, with all its losses, is thought very 
well of by your friends, if you disregard it yourself. 

Of course I don't expect you to answer this; I have 



94 " " Hi WILLIA M FRA FT. 

mil . I could n't help «'N|m 

pathy in your unparalleled Buflfei 

\\ 1th my kind - to your family, I 

] hi- affectionate friend, 

II. L. Am: 

and all the rest of the old nd tli«"u 

warmest love. 

( hi the 17th of Man-li. 1864, he formed the 
line of the Fifty-seventh Ma Infantry 

for the first time. < >n the 28th of the Bame month, 
a Bword was presented to him by the citizens of 
the town of Winthrop, where his father's family 
was then, and had for some years been living. I he 
ceremony took place in the Town Hall, which 
was filled with the men and women of Winthrop. 
The walls bore the nam " Ball's Blu 

"Yorktown," "Plains Store,' 1 and "Port Hud- 
Bon," and tlic colors of the Twentieth Regime 
were placed upon the platform. T I ■•■ vernoi 
the Commonwealth, Beveral members of hi 
and some officers who had seen Bervice, were pi 

nil. Ill answer to a mOSi flattering :t«l- 1 ■ - 38 1 1 » 'ill 

an eminent and venerable citizen of Massachu- 
setts, Colonel Bartletl Bpoke as follows : — 

Mb. Chairman \m> Fellow Cm I could 

h thai it bad been your fortune to present thi 

monial to one who would have (lour more justice to it in 

words i fitting the occasion and the gift. IIa<l I 

y< u own command of lai I could hardl) do jus« 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 95 

tice to it. If in the performance of ray duties as a sol- 
dier I have met your approbation, I am truly grateful 
for it. The consciousness of duty performed is in i 

a sufficient reward, but to this to-day is added the knowl- 
edge of the approval and applause of others, and the 
assurance that those at home appreciate our sacrifices, 
and that it is to keep a desolating war from their hearth- 
stones that we take the field. You in this quiet North- 
ern town know little of the misery of war. and the des- 
olation that follows in the track of an army. If some 
line day you should see an array tile into your fields, 
and destroy your growing harvests, and dig a rifle pit in 
your garden, or cut down your choicest trees because 
they obstructed the view, you would see that the misery 
that the South is now suffering is but the just reward of 
her treachery and rebellion. His Excellency has just 
assured me of his confidence by placing under my com- 
mand another Massachusetts regiment. The last one I 
had the honor to command was enlisted for only nine 
months, but served nearly twelve, and I believe during 
that term had its full share of danger, and I never knew 
of its disgracing the service or the State. Massachu- 
setts soldiers never do. The regiment I now command 
will serve three years, and it is proposed to end the war 
in a much shorter time; but if we should be needed for 
three times three year-, we have enlisted for the war. 
I see around me here the names of places which I can- 
not soon forget — places where I have known the sad- 
dest and the proudest moments of my life. I see the 
tattered flags of the brave old Twentieth, under which 
my earliest duties as a soldier were done on the field of 
battle. If the names of all the gallant men who have 



Ml M Will. I A 1/ //.' 

and fallen around yon in your d< I >uld be 

■ 1 in characters of gold within your fol old 

devotion to th< i : irbich 

you are i" us 1 1 i « - hallowed sj mbol. 

that this war will soon 1»" over, and we 1 bat 

will have no peace but an honorabl< 1 1 

would have ;i lasting peace, we must hat <>nr 

honor, our our vei , de- 

pend upon our self-sacrifice and our valor. You mutt 
put f'Tili every exertion, you must lar, 

and it' lp ed be Bend every man. until we can win a vic- 
torious peace. I go to tin- field in a few weeks and 
shall carry this beautiful Liit'r. I -hall bring it hack, if I 

e, bruised and disfigured perhaps, bul with no stain 
of dishonor. For it. and for this flattering ovation, for 
the presence here of bo many friends, and amoi 

whom the State and country loves and honor — 
this day never to be forgotten by me, I thank you. 

( hi the 31sl of March he writes in his journal : 
( one "t* his most valued offic ame 



back last night. He is going to resign, I am sorry 
to say. Hi; wife has persuaded him. It is the 
weakest thing I ever saw in him. I lose Faith in 
man's firmness and woman's fortitud 

( )n the 1 Ith of April, the < rovernor the 

camp of the Fii renth Regiment, and pre- 

ited to it the usual rt gimental col( 

deluded in these words : — 

I immit these banners to you as an i citi- 

zen uf Massachusetts, and ai a personal friend — an 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 97 

officer firm and loyal, a citizen faithful and patriotic, a 
friend in whom there is no guile — with a satisfaction 
no words can express. And whatever fate may be be- 
fore you, I know that neither on the white stripes of the 
one flag nor the white field of the other will there ever 
fall the slightest dishonor. 

Colonel Bartlett. replied as follows : — 

Your Excellency, — I hope, sir, we shall do the 
flag more credit in action, than we can do ourselves in 
speech. 

My Men ! This flag, which is the standard of our own 
Massachusetts, and this which we have been taught to 
look upon as the sacred emblem of our nation, have to- 
day been formally entrusted to our keeping, to carry 
and defend, by the Governor of our State. Can I say 
to him for you, that you will try to do honor to this 
trust ? That you will carry it and defend it, whenever 
and wherever duty calls ; that you will never desert, 
disown, or disgrace it ; that you will swear by it, pray 
for it, live for it, and if need be, die for it ; and that you 
will devote yourselves to its service until it shall be 
feared and respected throughout the recreant South, as 
it is loved and cherished by the loyal North ? 

Ever since that flag was insulted by traitors in 
Charleston harbor, it has had a warmer place in the 
heart of every loyal man. When her high-toned orators 
threatened the South's rebellion and secession, we en- 
dured a great deal of personal insult and abuse, calmly 
and silently. But when, viper-like, she turned and fired 
upon that flag which had shielded and protected her, she 
struck a blow which blood alone can atone for. She 

7 



98 MEM01H OF WILLIAM 11: I \ 

we are in arm wly 

and ly <l"\\ii "ii the 

like m igic on e\ • ry hill-top and I 
and staff throughout I • th; and 
to ii- than anythii h, and 1 1 

m, is that <>M flag Mill. 
There are I South who, still • 

intry, are waiting silently and patiently till tl 
tin- gleam of its folds again — a token of tl 

nment, the overthrow of despotism 
bellion : and tl ho wait h< 

ully, for r they know th tnd 

r, wherever that l! ; <e. 

On the i- April. 1864, the regiment left 

Worcester, nine hundred and bwenty-eieht 
On the 20th, ii reached Annapolis, and there be- 
part of tin' First Brig 
Ninth Army ( lorps. It t> ok up the march on t1:e 

I, and passed through Washington, and by the 
30th it had reached Rappahanno k 
marched well for a new regii a the I 

six <>f these eight d omplished one hun- 

dred and one mil< 

The letters which Colonel Bart] . and 

journal entries which ho made from this til 

and feelings so 
fully that it is well to l< 
him 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 99 

Rappahannock Station, Va., May 3, 1864. 
"We move to-morrow morning with the grand army of 
',he Potomac. I have been here three days, and not found 
time to go over to the Twentieth, only live miles distant. 
My regiment is in no condition to take into action, hut I 
tnust do the best I can. It will be a lonir and hard fight. 
God, I hope, will give us the victory. The chances I 
think are even. Grant, I fear, does not appreciate Lee's 
ability, nor the qualities of his army. Let us hope for 

the best I am very well Give me twenty 

days and I could make a splendid regiment of this, but 
man proposes and Grant disposes. Good-by. 

Ever faithfully yours. Frank. 

May 4. Hard marching. Thrown twice. Not hurt. 
Brier caught in horse's flesh. Marching till four a. m. 

May 5. To Germanna Ford. Cross Rap. We shall 
fight to-morrow. I hope T may get through, but hardly 
expect it. 1 1 is will be done. 

May G. Move at three a. m. to the front. It will be 
a bloody day. I believe I am prepared to die. God 
bless my dear friends at home, — mother, father, sisters, 
Asrnes. AVent into action about eight. Thick woods. 
Men behaved well. I was struck in head about eleven. 
Carried to rear. Sent to the hospital in rear. Lay 
there among the wounded and dying till night, when 
there was a falling back, and I was put in an ambulance; 
.... knocked about all night. I slept a good deal. 
Morning, lay under some trees near the road to Chan- 
cellorsville. Afternoon, persuaded to go in ambulance to 
Rappahannock, thence to Washington, with rest of the 
wounded. Went to Fly's Ford. Stayed there till two 



100 MEMOIR OF WILLI A M FJU 

a. five of my officers b led* 

. . . ( lolonel < lhandler beba l 

1 1 dered me to ch . in 

t of Q8 thai would cot move. We did it in 
line. 1 1 : 1 1 • f .G ' 

carri< ur, wounded in 

Sunday y %th* Ambulances moved to Chancellorsville, 
haltiug here at half past nine a. if, Moved to Pino 
G »ve Church. Park wagons here. I don't k 
what they propose to do with us. My id« 

mixed. Went to ambulance fyfacj was in. 
Little Abbott is dead. I knew it would 

I • mid only have xiii him ! M >\ « '1 a" 

ksburg. Halted about i for night The loss 

in my regiment La great Nearly two hundred k; 
and wounded. I am satisfied with their cond 

/ '.». Moved into Fredericksburg this mornii 
sunrise, in a brick house here. Lived in ambula 
three days and nights. Long enough. I have been to 
see Macy. It seems queer for him to be here — the 

■ • he lias fought in and fought for bo much. I am 
pretty weak. My head not bad. Stump painful. A 

k or two will set me right again Very 1 

long day. Sleep on the Boor without any c Not 

cold. 

May 10. Long, miserable day. II 
Lb killed. I would rather that any other officer in the 

army was gone than he. His body ha v 

body is hei ernoon, live of us hired a 

us to Belle Plain. Macy wanted to go m 

than T did. .«• up my ehau Awful 

unt of Buffering here. Very litt] 
supplies. I [er< S initary. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 101 

May 11. Start at ten a. M. in ambulance for Belle 
Plain, fourteen miles, hard road. Colonel crazy- 
most of the time. Got on board transport at four p. m. 
.... Reached Washington at eleven Good sup- 
per and bath. Bad night, delirious, threatened with 
fever. 

A dramatic incident occurred at this battle of 
the Wilderness. Bartlett and Macy had last seen 
eacli other in the field on the 24th of April, 1862, 
when they both were Captains in the 20th Mas- 
sachusetts Infantry. In the battle of the Wilder- 
ness, they were wounded nearly at the same time, 
and as they emerged from the woods, Bartlett 
drooping over the neck of his horse and with his 
arms clinging round it, and Macy borne on a 
stretcher, they met, both of them Colonels of 
Massachusetts Infantry regiments. It was a 
strange chance that men who had parted with 
the rank of captain, should next meet in the field 
more than two years after, both colonels, serving 
in different corps d' armee, and both wounded in 
the same battle. 

Washington, May 12, 18G4. 
Df,ar Mot hi-: r, — I reached here last night from 
Fredericksburg. I was lilt the second day's fight in the 
Wilderness, just ahove the right temple. The ball 
glanced off, only making a Blight wound. I was stunned 
for a short time, hut was carried to the rear just in time 
to avoid being taken prisoner. When I fell, I wrenched 
my stump so that it has been very painful, and I am 



WILLIAM •■ T 

not g \x my 1 ! 

ut. I have been li 
1 in an ambulant 

id and whisk \ . I had :i bath lasl . and u 

[] right It 1 
marching and fighting 
Little AM know is ki 

,«1 wounded, and i w hom \ ou d 

know. Sedgwick, I shall trj 

* i • « 1 
have it fitted. It has been the hardest ;. a oi the 

war, probably the hardest in history, I in 

the Wilderness. Our loss is estimated from twenty to 
thirty thousand. 

With much love to all, 

. \ ours, 

\V. F. R 

May 1 -• Pretty miserable this morning Lei) 

wenty minutes past five for Baltin 

nighi ;». Plenty of quinine has kept < ■far. 

May 13. Much better this morning. Leavi Balti- 
more at ten a. m. Reach N ■■■■ York o p if. 
1 lier and father here at Fifth Avenue, 
when I entered the hotel. 

May i '.'. I I ton. 

May 20. Governor is to write Wilson al 

.1/ Saw Wilson at Btate-house. P 1 to 

do wh Id at Washington, [fhe does, it will 

all right 

Juru 3. K' iched Washington v. bad 

seei. . ' '."lit. Papers had _ 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 103 

June A. Went to Secretary. Spoke kindly. Sent 
(sic) in v papers referred to General Ilalleck. I ex- 
pect that will be the last of it. 

June 6. To Baltimore. 

Baltimore, June 11, 18Gi. 

Dear Father: — I received your letter yesterday, 

and could not imagine what you meant by " my letter in 
the 'Post,'" until I saw the paper which Sallie received. 
I should have thought you would have known that I 
never wrote such a letter as that. It is disgraceful, and 
I will give a month's pay to find out who wrote it. If 
it was any man or officer of my regiment, I pity him. 
If there is anything I detest in any officer, it is wri- 
ting to a newspaper. Please give the enclosed to Mr. 
Greene, lie can make the statement, with authority, 
without publishing my communication. Or if he pre- 
fers, he can do that. I have written to the Editor of 
the " Springfield Republican " to send me the manu- 
script, that I may find out who has taken this liberty 
with my name. 

I leave for Washington this afternoon. I have had 
a very pleasant week here, and am much better than 
when I left home. I shall see General Augur to- 
morrow, lie was going to see Ilalleck when I came 
away, with what result I do not yet know. Will write 
you from Washington. Love to all. 

In haste, 
W. F. B. 

The allusion in the foregoing letter is to a letter 
published in the " Boston Post," and copied from 
the "Springfield Republican. " It purported to be 



1<)1 »// VOIR or WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTi ETT. 

written bj Colonel Bartlett, and vainglori- 

. poor affair, lull of fulsome of i he 

enth Regiment, and of disparaging contrast be- 
tween it and the other regime) the I > i \ i - i * > 1 1 „ 
and utterly unlike Bartlett in every i Two 
or i hree d er, i he M P< »at " pub ished a \ • 
short communication from Colonel Bartlett, in 
which he pronounced it an absolul 

W \\ -III' 

Ynur kind letter I found herje on Sunday last wh I 
returned from Baltimore, where I pass 
quietly. I am much better than when I left von. and 

that I am improving every day. I bad a sli 
laps* S inday for Borne reasoD or other. I had b 
liurch in the morning, and aa 1 •_ >l out ofthocarri 

ut the house I had a Bevere pain Btrike me 

I dinner in the afternoon, but this pain in* 

thal I had to leave the table. I came \ 

near tipping over; I never was BO faint hi: .ply 

from pain. I was alarmed, aa that was a new Bpol 
me to have pain, and I could not account for it. I I 
off my leg, and in ten minutes the pain had almost 
tirely gone. 

I came to Washington that aigl cting to 

down t<> the front this morning, but the M< die J i * 
here advised bo Btrongly my waiting a few daya loi 
that I h:i\ a consented. II<- explain) d 
Sunday by Baying that the socket must ha 
mduly upon, or strained, some particular I for- 

• what it was, and yon would not know it' i 
tell nd the pain wai 3 mpath; 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 105 

with this nerve. I was relieved to know that it was 
nothing worse. I have had one or two very sligltt 
touches since. Surgeon says I must begin moderately 
in using my leg. 

I have not been to the President with your father's 
letter. The fact is, I can't make up my mind to go to 
these men and ask for anything. It was very kind of 
your father to write such a letter for me. I only in- 
tended to ask for a simple note of introduction, to say 
that my name was B. and he knew it. General Augur 
has been to see Stanton, and I hear that the papers have 
been referred to General Ilalleck. I suppose they will 
be pigeon-holed somewhere, and that will be the last of 
it. I should have liked to have it come from Stanton, 
as he voluntarily promised, and if it does come at all, 
it must come of itself; for I should be a very poor hand 
pulling wires, or urging anything of the sort. 

There are doubtless plenty of easy berths here that I 
could have for the asking; but I don't want them. I 
feel that I am not adapted for office business here, such 
as provost-marshal, etc. If I am of any value, it is in 
the field, in the actual handling and government of 
troops. 

Still, it seems pretty hard for me to go down there 
and take command of my one hundred men, a captain's 
command, after the larger ones that I have had. I 
heard from the regiment to-day. It has a good reputa- 
tion throughout the corps. All speak of Colonel Chan- 
dler's splendid bravery and coolness. 
Believe me dear Frank, 

As ever, yours, 

F. B. 



WILLI ; r. 

I I .tli/.ti 

1 .-tin never t<> Bee him 
[ went to I I I 

remember bim \ I [< 
emed very clad to Bee me, and I was n\>\<- 
make bim ■ II. i ,. 

1". 

June 12. At Baltimore. Bad pain at dinnertime^ 
To Wa rtiington. 

Jum L3. Saw Genera] Augur. Halleck had n< 
6 1 my p ipers when he was thi I it my pass ex- 

tended ten i , $. 50 down in disgust 

unless I hear from Bi 

June 1 I. Went to Halleck' and my 

papers had 1" en returned to 6 .... 

W< nt up to S nate. Saw S Anthony, etc., P 

ley Poore. Received a document printed from 
roy. Nomination of W. F. B. fol B '_ ral 

Volunt* eat surprise. s 1 I last 

really a N - •■ if I am confirmed : 

new heart. Saw Wilson, evening. Will put it 
through this we< k. I tv 

June 21. I was waked this morning by J 
ins in and reading to me that the F last night con- 

firmed W. F. B. to be Brig ral Volunte 

Thank God! Went to Baltimore, evenii 

June 2 I. To Washington. 

.In, mission as Brig idier- 

ml, date J Go to Ninth < 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 107 

Washington, D. C, July 1, 1804. 

Here it is July. Frank, and I am not out of this miser- 
able place yet. I expect now to go down to the front 
the first of next week. I am assigned to the Ninth 
Corps, and shall keep the same brigade that I was in 
before. It was very strong, — five regiments Massachu- 
setts and two United Stales. Since I came away, the 
Regulars have been transferred to the Fifth Corps. I 
shall probably have no permanent staff at present. As 
soon as we have a respite and reorganize a little, I shall 
try to get together a congenial and efficient one. Ben 
has been waiting for my promotion, to go on the staff. 
I have written him that it is a bad time to join just 
now, — heat, dirt, reduced commands, etc., — and it may 
discourage him. Of course it will be pleasant for me 
to have him for a companion. Herbert is here now. 
Goes back to-night. He would like to sro with me if he 
could ride. He gets very impatient and blue at times. 
If he could only ride ! 

Yes. Frank, I have got my commission at last, signed 
by Abe and Stanton. Gotten up in great style, in a 
brown tin case, with my name, rank, etc., in large letters 
of gold on the outside. The appointment was made 
early in June, but the Senate had no executive session 
till tin? 20th. You were right, Frank, in addressing my 
letter as you did, although the confirmation was made 
when I got it. I was very much annoyed by receiving 
letters of congratulation, etc., before the confirmation. 
Meant in all kindness, of course; but I was sorry that 
anything was known about it until it was confirmed. I 
taw it, the appointment, in the paper (Boston paper at 
that) first, just after I wrote you last. I must say I 
hardly expected it. 



108 -V WILLIAM 

The we ither h fearfully 1 • un- 

! !• night 

B M ; ■!" ': ig and Raymond, of 

. I ir and Herb., with one or two oth< 
nit little party. Buhler «jnii< 

It 11 tli.- beat place in Washii _• a, I 
k, although I heard that it bad fallen i 
terdny, Herb, and I drove out to Fall's Church, to 
imp. I have found myself many tin 
lasl i that yon were here; 1 » * 1 1 you w 

i »] breezes which I could not ha 
cured for you here, and were better off. 

I li i much in my mind that I want to say to 

you to begin to put it on paper. 

The "gobbling" of the old brigade that the Tw< 
rth waa in was an unlucky termination to a long and 
brave carei r. I :un glad the Twentieth escap 

lam getting quite thin. My stum rery 

day. I have two thicknesses of leather, and I 
tin-' of paper round my Btump, to fill up the 

[f it continues to wilt, I shall have to g< : an- 
other new socket made, which will delay me. 

Ever youj Frank. 

r he 1st to tli< v 17th of July, he waa mov- 

ing aboul busily. Prom Washington he went 
to Baltimore, thence to Philadelphia, where he re- 
ed many gratifying attentions, thence to N 
York, and thence to Pittsfield, where he records 
in his journal, M Very grateful f< la mei 

and loving kitidn From Pittsfield he went 

to his home at Winthrop, and from there he re- 
turned to Washington. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 109 

Washington, July 18, 18G4. 

I have only time to write a few words to-night to say 
goocl-by. I was very much disappointed at not seeing 
you the day I was in Boston. You know I was n't 
there quite twenty-four hours ; did not see Maey or 
Arthur. I was anxious to get back here, because I did 
not know what this raid might amount to. Entre nous, 
this little town came nearer being taken last week than 
you or I imagined. One Major-general, who talked 
to me to-day about it, thinks they will be back again 
soon. The Sixth Corps returns to the Army of the 
Potomac at once, likewise the Nineteenth Corps. 

I saw 0. W. Holmes a moment this morning. He 
goes home to be mustered out. I send you a poor pho- 
tograph taken from a larger picture which Brady has of 
me here. They are not good. I go down to Peters- 
burg to-morrow. I can't tell you how much I regret 
having missed an hour with you last Thursday, but 
trust we are yet to have our little talk out. 

I found your " hi Memoriam " here on my return. 
I like it very much. Write to me when you have 
plenty of leisure, Frank (First Division Ninth Corps), 
and don't forget to remember 

Yours, 

Frank Bartlett. 

Pardon the haste, brevity, and style of this letter, and 
heap coals of fire on my head in return. Good-by. 

F. 

You are at liberty to burn the picture if you object 
to it. 



lid U WILLIAM III I 1. 

On the L9th of July, 1864, 
the army in front of P 

in b) wa; I F ■■■ M m- 

mand i First B 

Ninth Army ( lorps. 

; 21. Steady firing all tl 
ii ii< i 1 and bullets. Danger of bei ny min 

ep or awake. I expecl I Bhall g< I ki] 
l down to the lines. 

22. I assume command to-morrow. Ha! 

I < rOUld, who 1, 

write home to-morrow. They mn 

bad news any moment Under fire constantly. A I 

write, a bullet strikes the tree near the I 

- humming a few feel over. P . not 

appreciate what this army is doing 
them. 

;me command of I .... 

Quiet day. Occasional bullets thn . . . . 

1" p. m. The bullets are flying through hei 

ly to-night. 

w I lay me down 
1 pray the Lord my bouI ; 
If I should die before I mike .... 

Hbadquabtkbs Ftrst Brioadr, First Di 

N I .N 111 A.RM1 I 

ng. 

Mv dear M br, — This is the first daj I 

lefl Wa hi _•■ »n thai I have 1" en able to * all. 

P< iu will have thought that you ought to I 

from me before this reaches vou; l»ut I have taken the 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BABTLETT. Ill 

Grst opportunity and have not forgotten your injunc- 
tions. I left Washington Tuesday p. ai., reached here 
Wednesday r. m. Came from Fortress Monroe on de- 
spatch boat with General Ingalls, Chief Quartermaster 

of Army, with whom I dined at City Point, where his 
headquarters are. By chance found the Chaplain at 
the Point, and sent for my horses. Ned and Billy were 
both looking finely. After dinner started for the front. 
Got as far as my Quartermaster's camp, and as it began 
to rain. I stayed there all night with him. I slept verj 
well my first night on the ground. In the morning a 
black snake over six feet long was killed within a few 
feet of my bed. After breakfast, rode on up to Division 
Hospital, where I found Dr. White, and several old let- 
ters, among them the Nut's of June G. which I found 
time to read to-day. Afterwards went to Burnside's 
Headquarters to report for duty, lie was not in. I 
dined with some of the staff; saw the General later. 
lie was glad to see me. I am assigned, as I supposed, to 
the command of the First Brigade, First Division. Gen- 
eral Ledlie commands the Division. There are now six 
Massachusetts regiments and one Pennsylvania in the 
brigade, not numbering more than 1,300 men altogether, 
present for duty. If the regiments were filled up it 
would be one of the largest and best brigades in the 
Army, bring all Massachusetts troops. I am trying to 
get C. B. Amory, of Jamaica Plains, formerly of the 
Twenty-fourth Regiment, who has been appointed As- 
sistant Adjutant-general, transferred to this brigade. 
I shall use for the present the staff that is here .... 
the surgeon, a Dr. Ingalls, of Boston, Fifty-ninth Regi- 
ment, who is very much of a gentleman. T slept last 



1 L2 Ml VOIR OF Wll UAM 

j t mid the night before at Division Headq with 

A M . ] lixth. 1 1 that 

I rould take the Division, but it Ledlie has with- 

ah his resignation. The l»ii'_- idc is in two lin< 
breastworks, one hundred yards apart, in tin- 1 
tlic enemy's works and within two hundred yards if 

.'• places. Brigade Headquarters are two hundred 
and fifty yards in far «-t' tl >nd line. I >i \ i - i« »i> 

Headquarters two hundred yards in rear of I 

.ill arc in easy mush 
We are in pine woods, the trees not very thick. The 
II> adquarters have to Ik- protected by a Btock 

Inst bullets, which are constantly coming throi 
here. Pour officers of the Fifty-seventh ha' hit 

since I gol here, one killed, three very 1 >a«l 1 \ woujn 
in the second lint-. ( )ur Btockade d 

lis, which fall in front ami i but 

have doI hit the Headquartei S tall way in 

tin- rear of Division Headquarters, ami Borne nes 
Headquarters, which art- about one fourth of a mile in 
rear of Division. We have a Btockade to prot< 
horses, too, but one of the orderlies' horses ami one <>( 
G neral Ledlie's were killed the other day. A bullet 

- whizzing over my tent every few minutes I 
write, and goes thud into one ^\' the tr< ir, with 

a sound that makes you think what a headache that 

ild have given you if your head hail l >een where t he 
tree was. The bullets patter like rain at tin _ inst 
the outside of this Btockade of logs, the inside of which 
my elbow touchi - as I write. It is a continual rattl< 
musketry, Bometimes Bwelling into a roar along tin- line, 
ami varied with the artillery and mortars. So you see 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 113 

we are liable at any moment to be struck, even while 
reading a paper or eating dinner. A bullet went 
through Dr. Anderson's table as he was eating break- 
fast this morning. You must be prepared to hear the 
worst of me at any time. God grant it may not come, 
for your sake, and for the sake of all I love and who love 
me at home. But you must be prepared for it. It is 
wearing to body and mind, this being constantly under 
fire. People at the North who are enjoying themselves 
and thinking of nothing but making money, little ap- 
preciate what this brave army is enduring every day and 
hour for them, and how much more cheerful and hope- 
ful they are than people at home. I wish some of the 
patriotic (?) ones at home who are making speeches (and 
money), would just come out here and spend a week, 
even back here at my Headquarters. They would not 
care to go down to the lines where the men are day and 
night fighting for their security and safety. I came 
over here this morning and assumed command. To- 
morrow I must go down and examine the lines, which 
is of course dangerous; but trust I shall get back safely. 
I shan't go there any oftener than is necessary, but it is 
my duty to visit them occasionally. To give you an 
idea of the firing that is going on constantly, I will 
count the shots in the next minute. It is more quiet 
than usual to-night. Eighty-one, and one heavy mortar 
slull, which burst in the air between here and second 
line, but sounded as if it were in the next tent. 
''There!" at that moment a bullet went whizzing 
through between mine and the one next, just above the 
stockade (which is a little higher than your head when 
sitting), and struck down somewhere between here and 
8 



1 1 I WILLI A v FBA • 

D ar where uie ! 

Ibis letter is written literally under fire. I am 
• ; \ well, my . in the than it 

before* I my valis< . 

qui- irtable in a day or two (under the circnnv 

. it' I am Bpared bo long. 1 intend to* ha 
kade built higher to-mom (Ford m 

protection from bullets. If the rebs knew just wl 
our Headquarters are, they would BhelJ us out l 

in three minutes : but t i ly they don't, and 

can only _ They guess i; iently i 

times. A- I may not hav< to write, you can let 

I ink Palfrey and l'< d see this letter, if 

and if the Nut chooses to copy it ad it to 

Aunt 

another bullet Prank Palfrey will 
lily understand and appreciate our position hi re. I 
hope I Bhall hear from you Boon. Tim mail i 
olarly every night I will wri I can. 

»ther letters to write to-night, so will finish I 
There is one pleasant thing to relieve the wear of I 
— I have a good hand here at Headquaru 1 it 

plays at intervals through the day and eveni] 

• 1 by a Btockade* The rebs have the benefit of it 
as much a> I do, but I can't help it. They favor 

with a hand sometimes. Tell the Nut ami Miss Ban 

that they just played" When Johnny comes March 

I I ." and -• Faust" u Thud ; " there go two ugly bul- 

LUtO a tree near by, one of then j ge think-, went 

through the upper part of the tent How Bhould you 
like to lie down and with ti g on all 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 115 

jight ? I expect to sleep soundly. I have for two 
nights. With much love to all, 

Ever your affectionate son, 

W. F. B. 

Zip prrrrrr goes the last bullet you will hear, for I 
close this now. That one went over to Division Head- 
quarters. Here's another before I could get my pen 
off the paper. Good-night. 

July 24. Quiet night. I go now down to the lines. 
I hope I may get safely back. If not, His will be done. 
.... "Went through the second line. Got back safely, 
thank God Bullets flying very lively to-night. 

Headquarters First Brigade. 

July 24, 18G4, 10 p. m. 

Dear Mother, — I write, as I promised. I got 
back safely from the lines. Just before I went there, a 
captain of the Fifty-sixth and two lieutenants of the 
Fifty-seventh were badly wounded by a shell which fell 
and exploded where they were sitting. Lieutenant 
Bowman of the Fifty-seventh cannot live. 

This makes six officers of the Fifty-seventh who have 
n killed or badly wounded since I have been here. 
It is too bad. The firing lias not ceased since I wrote 
you last, nor indeed since I first got within sound of it. 
The bullets are singing around my tent as usual. Spat! 
there goes one into the tree, making the bark fly. It is 
raining to-night, but it does not diminish the ardor of 
these patriotic sportsmen, who keep up their target 
practiee with groat zeal. 

The weather has been very cool and pleasant. 

I slept beautifully last night, and hope to to-night. 



IK, MEMOIR OF Wll LI A »/ FRANi I /'. 

I. to all at home. No Letters j 

. —20th, 21 

AH- ctionab 

\v. r. i;. 

Did I tell you I went over to see the Twentii 
terd ' San Patfc , J ■':.■ 1 ' ry, and I >r, Hay* 
They are a mile and a half is rear of 

July 25 General of trenches to-morrow 

l; i olonel Thomas, who was al Pittsfield whei I 

went there first He commands negro brigade. 1! 
we drift together and separate in this world ! 

July 26. Brigade reviewed by General Ledlie. Did 
not make very good appearance. Officers, even of old 

iments. ignoranl Shell burst all around tl 

I [e idquarters in a very die \ ray. I pray hourly 

that I may be Bpared. 

July '21 Shells this p. m. come fearfully i 

Orders to be ready to move at a moment's notice. . . 
Goil spar.- me for Agnes' ind for dear mothi 

sake! I fear it will break their hearts if I am killed 
here. That is what makes it all the harder I 
thinking of their grief 

BBADQUARTI i BUGAD I DlYISIOH, Nimii A. C. 

BsrORI Pi PBB8BUBO, ^A., /«% I 

Yours of the 21st-24th reached m<- 1 ing. It 

ia pleasant t<> hear you talk, even at this distance, wl 
the sound of artillery and musketry is heard from the 
time vim wake till you Bleep again. A stranger, it' he 
should at thi< moment be put down at my Headquarl 
to make a little friendly visit] would hardly be prepared 
ry on a connected conversation with these mortal 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCI8 BART LETT. 117 

shells bursting over and around him. At this very in- 
stant one explodes, two — three — just over and in rear 
of these tents. It is wonderful how we escape. The 
pieces go humming in all directions. My stockade stops 
all bullets, so that while behind that I am safe from 
those. But these shells are inconveniently searching, 
and dropped with a precision which would interest an 
amateur (if he was iron-plated). 

I don't know how long this thing is to continue. 
The Second Corps crossed the James at Deep Bottom 
this A. m. at daylight, and has met with some success, so 
a telegram from Headquarters tells us. Taken four 
guns, etc. My brigade is under orders to move at a 
moment's notice, being in the reserve line to-day. (We 
occupy the front line by brigades.) I should n't be very 
sorry to leave this place. General Ledlie still commands 
the Division. He has not been confirmed, but he ranks 
me by appointment. He is not much liked by the of- 
ficers of the Division, and it seems they hoped I was to 
succeed him, but I think I had rather try a brigade be- 
fore I venture any higher, although the whole Division 
does not number so many as a full brigade of four regi- 
ments should. I have six Massachusetts regiments and 
one Pennsylvania. 

I am glad McLaughlin has the Fifty-seventh. If he 
fills it up it will make a good regiment. 

I am to have Charlie Amory, of Jamaica Plains, for 
A. A. General, a very good one, I am told. Tom Ste- 
venson had him appointed for him. Frank Wells, of 
H. U. 18G-1, T have asked to have commissioned in the 
Fifty-seventh to make an aide of. He is a gentleman, 
slever I believe, and has seen a little service. There is 



1 1 - '■ WILLIAM J /.'. 

lection of alumni h< re. 
L8< f£ Lamb, oi l 361. Mill* 

i and A. \. < •.. I he ir. I ■■■ 

inn day, :ilnl certainly don't With tliat VOU Wl 
1 ' a> it may Beem, I hi tent 

■ U," and a bunk of th< y in 

it. A meal at ( k>rps I leadquarfc 
memory th 

ely bear huntii - you hunt the bear il 

very pleasant pastime; but it' the bear takes it into 
head to hunt you, it has its drawl .11 I hall 
pull through safely, Frank, ami ■_ 
Imt when or where, is beyond my ken. 

I think physically I shall be able to endure it. al- 
though this work, which won't admit of the use of 
a horse, but requires that you 

•88 certain localities marked '-Da;.. 
re. 
I have much that I must h ave unsaid, but not the 
injunction to write me a few lines when you can. 
With kind remembrances to all your family, 
1 remain ever you . Fh 

fay, Jul;/ 29. Very warm AiVrn 

for. Division Headquarters. ^ I inn the 

morrow :it daylight Our Division leads. I hardly dare 

hope io live through it. God have mercy I: I 

could only ride, or had two legs, bo I could A 
hri'_ r a'l<\ I believe they would follow me anywhere. I 
will try as it i-. God have pity on dear mot! 
ad all lov( March the brigade at one and hal. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 119 

(July 30) through covered way to front line. Mine sprung 
at 4.40. We rushed across the open held. I got up to 
the enemy's works about ;is soon as any one. Got into 
the crater. Took the first and second lines of the enemy. 
Held them till after one, when we were driven back by 
repeated charges. I fought them for an hour after they 
held the whole line, excepting the crater where we were, 
their flag within seven feet of ours across the work. 
They threw bayonets and bottles on us, and we returned 
for we got out of ammunition. At last, to save further 
slaughter, there being no hope of our being rescued, we 
gave it up. That crater during that day I shall never 
forget. A shell knocked down a bowlder of clay on to 
my wood leg and crushed it to pieces, killing the man 
next me. I surrendered to General Mahorie. 

July 31. Slept on a field of stones last night, negroes 
and all together, without any covering. Not cold. 
Nothing to eat all this time. Start for town of Peters- 
burg. I was carried in ambulance. My belt taken from 
me by Captain Porter, Provost Marshal Hill's corps, the 
thief. Put on small island near the South Sid.' Railroad 
depot. No shelter or food. I drink too much water. 
Thirst makes me crazy. We wouldn't treat cattle as 
wo are b. ing treated. Slept on some straw to night ; de- 
lirious all night. Very weak. I cannot touch the food, 
— raw bacon. 

August 1. Start this a. m. for Danville. Ride in 
dirty freight ears. Got to Burkes ville Junction about 
.fine. Wait there all day long in heat and dirt. Am 
getting weaker every hour. Train does not come for us 
till nearly nine P. M. So full that I had to ride on nar- 
row platform of last car, which was a passenger-car, the 



120 ••' VOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 

. hut h«- would not lei ii- gO in it. So t ; . 

of ii this place all night,— ( M i ball, 

< \:;p'iy. aii'l I. — tin- moat horrible night I • 

1. Could not sleep, all cramped np. Ham 
tmentofa prisoner of my ran . I wounded 

thera chivalry ! Reached Danville early. 

-/<///. Ainjiis nrricd iii a di.:\ without 

any cover to the prison, a filthy place, an old wareh 

and W wcit on the first il •, about th 

hundred, as thick as we ••mild li . I 

saw the Doctor in the morning; he said he would Bend 
me to the hospital. I could not eal anything; ai 
iah and so weak. No crutches. I have to be partly 
carried, partly hop along, when I moi B tion isi 
, bread, thick loa£ and bacon. I can't touch eitl 

still drink water. If I do DOf L r 't away from hi 

soon. I never shall. Wagon came for m . an 

d wagon or cart, used to carry bacon in, all 

with dirt and [ ivel -[Trad OD the bottom to 

cover the ; ride over rough road to hospil 

am in a tent, old and ragged, but 
( Small-pox.) 

Wednesday, 3d. Hospital outside Danville. The] 
em like ■ horrible dream which I can n< 
The misery thai I have Buffered is more thai I 
:• tell. I was brought here that night in a filthy 

cart from the prison. I could not have lived their much 

longer. I have a straw bed here and Blept well last 
eight G I some milk this morning. Tain in my 
►„,v. . bad; very weak. Sent for tooth-brush t 

morn, by 1 1 Milk, SI pt I suppose thej 

I anxious at home ahout inc. I hope I >liall he able 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 121 

to write soon ; will try to write up the past few days. 
Wagon sent for me to go back to prison — said I could 
not go. Wrote a note to Major Morfit, commanding, 
telling I was too weak. He let me stay. Took the 
captain who was here. 

Thursday, 4th. Get no better, yet wrote to General 
Lee and Secretary of War this morning, asking for my 
exchange or parole. I lope they are not much worried 
at home. I am glad 'hey do not know the truth. 
Much pain still; bowels very weak; no appetite. No 
one can ever know the misery that I have suffered the 
past few days. I don't know how long I can endure 
this. It seems to be my lot to suffer. I must not be 
ungrateful for all God's mercies though, in sparing my 
life. 

Friday, 5th. No better. Wrote mother, hope it will 
get through. Officers sent to Columbia, S. C, yester- 
day. Find two or three old Eclectic Magazines to read, 
Rogers's Poetical Works, and Caudle Lectures. I never 
knew what silly things those were before. 

Changed $50 U. S. for $200 C. S. currency. 

Prisoners' Hospital, 
Danville, Va., August 5, 1864. 

Dear Mother, — I will write a few lines in the hope 

that they may reach you at some time. You know, of 

course, that I was taken prisoner, that my leg (wooden) 

was crushed; the man next me was killed by the same 

shell. I was very much used up and have been very 

weak from diarrhoea since. I was brought from the 

prison to this place night before last. The other offi- 

ters were all sent to Columbia, S. C, yesterday, Colonel 



L22 M WILLIAM TT. 

Weld and Captain i>mory indud I a all al 
I -lit there when I am well I 

1 have plenty -h air. I 1. 

blame is given me for the hula F S I 

linlv did all in my power. I held tin- pit f 
hardly any force ai I the line bad I 

;i. The rebel flag was withii 
the ridge of dirt between, for nearly an boor. !• 
impossible to withraw without sacrificing all the men 
I held on as long as possible in 1. reinfor© 

Tli<- i!' s crowded into the same pit with us 

when they reti in such confusion, ami we i 

. an account of being taken with tl. 
I .-hull get better here, I think. I don't Bup 
will be able to send me anything. Tufts, the M is« ichu- 

Agcnt in Washington, will know. Write □ 
mora than one page is allowed, I bel 
Prisoner of War, Danville, Va. 

And my h 1 ike good ca FN d. I 

made arrai i have him sent home in c 

thing happened to me. The Chaplain and Dr. White 
promised to Bee to it. It' yon can Bend n 
with something to eat and drink, 
I Bhould like it. It might get to me. Send it thn 
Tnt':-. Massach t in Washington. Send this 

i A. P. I -hall not be able to write any • 
■lit. I ha <1\\ in's '• l( ' Ith me, and 

may be able to use it. Don't be worried about me, 1 
shall be well Boon. I Bhall get a pair of crutch( 

ibout soon. My half-dollar ; 
did me rvice ; brought me eight dollar ler- 

tte money, with which I bought a tooth*bruth» IM ilk 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 123 

two dollars qt., etc. My love to all. Let them write 
me often ; some will get through. 

Your affectionate son, 

W. F. Bartlett. 

Brigadier-general U. S. A., Prisoner of War. 

(Envelopes, $8. a package.) 

There has been some talk of exchanging sick and 
wounded prisoners. I hope it will be effected. 

August 6. Little better this morning; shall try to 
send this to-day. Write on one leaf, but send the whole 
sheet and an envelope. 

Ag. P., — I have the little red velvet case with me 
all safe. Don't be worried about me. F. 

Saturday, 6th. Dr. Hunter put certificate on my letter 
to Secretary of War. Got dozen eggs to-day, S5.00 ; 
feel little better to-day ; pain bowels still ; rain this 
p. m. ; my tent all rags, open at both ends. Just a week 
since I was taken ; what a week of misery. 

Sunday, 7th. Beautiful Sabbath morning, 11 a. m. I 
wonder if they are at church now at home. It must 
have been an anxious week for them, but they don't 
dream of what I have been suffering, fortunately for 
them. Doctor gives me some new pills ; my liver is de- 
ranged. Read Moore; wish I had my little Church Ser- 
vice here, I could be reading the same lesson that Agnes 
is this morning. Hattie's birth-day, I believe. I should 
like to be at home to-day. Began to carve out a pipe 
yesterday. 

Monday, 8th. Letter to General Lee goes this morn- 
ing, probably. Another wretched, painful, weary day. 
Mustard poultice on bowels this morn. Never passed 



L2 I WILLIAM ill I • / /'. 

inch a horrible night u tail j all night, 

blood fVc.lv. TIh- doctor couldn't km>w anything 
hii business, and «1< >c- n'r care. K< givii _ r m< 

ijlit pin! of brandy, $25; miserable Btnff. A: 
brandy, tastes 1 i k«- burning-flnid. 

vA/y, 9th. More comfortable night thai, 

ire, Less pain ; continue t<> run off th( I 

long day ; three gentlemen «all»cl this p. m.. 
few tomatoes. I can't eat them. Indeed, I <1 
anything. Another sleepless, painful night to-night 
If I die lid-.', I hope my friends (written luthj will 
the matter ami learn the truth. 

Wednesday) XQth. General Young, C. S. A.. <-a'! 

me this a. m., offered to take letter to Ould ; wrote 
ami sent down to him this p. if. Hope he will - 
i _< ; no h me pain. Weaker every day. 1 i 

not last long at thi It* I could only live to get 

in our lines or to Baltimore, I would 
Mother would be tl 

Thia Dr. Hunter doesn't take the slightest u 
my getting well, or else his Lndiffert put on to con- 

ceal his ignorance. 

I>an\ n.i.r. Va., August 10, 1SG4. 
Hi ;!<..-<,! \. W. P. Babtlxtt, r. S. A. : — 

ml, — I am directed by < reneral Xoung to say to 
you that he will take great pleasure in handing your 
letter to Judge Ould in person, and that he will i 
i py meana in his power to procure you an exchai 
n parole <d* honor, immediately. If he Bhould I 
( , tieral Young will do everything in his power to alie- 
nate your pain. <>r to promote your recovery. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 125 

You will hear from General Young as soon as he has 
Been Judge Ould. 

I am, General, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
I. Pinckney Thomas, 

Lt. $ A. D. C. 

Thursday* 11th. Doctor not come to-day, little loss. 
I am little more comfortable, less discharges ; very, very 
weak. If I go now I must go on stretchers. No sleep 
after 12. 

Friday, 12th. No better, no sleep after 12. Some 
milk porridge this morning. My tongue is fearfully 
coated, brown. Dr. Hunter just glanced at it and says, 
" Oh, yes, your tongue looks better." I said I did not 
agree with him. 

Saturday, 13th. Worse and weaker to-day. No sur- 
geon, no medicine, no food suitable. I shall not write 
much more in this book. I hope it will reach home. 
Letter from Amory at Columbia. Patrick McIIugh, 
Co. E., One-hundredth Illinois, has promised to take it. 
Nothing from General Younsr. 

The following entry appears to belong to this 
time. It is pencilled on a fly-leaf of his pocket 
diary, without a date : — 

It is hard to die here without a single friend, not 
even an officer of our army, to hold my hand and take 
my last words. I hardly dare trust to my body or any- 
thing else getting home. 

Sunday, 11th. Felt a little better after sat up this 
^. M. ; have got a prayer-book, great comfort in it ; have 



i reading it all U Im, 

fourteenth 

i I . been * 

[ all day ; fa 
I feel a little to-day. < Jod ia \> ry merciful. I 

shall i! lay. I beli< ve I Bhall 

man if I live. 1 wonder if A 

Itl morning. I 11 thro 

day. 

Monday, 15th. Slepl well last night. 
My In... [uiet an 

pain. Doctor got bottle " blueberry wi lay, 

1.00 : poor Btuff, Bome Btimulant. Read | 
with more interest than 1 ever f< It bei The cha 

\\a- tudden. Saturday night was the V 

I ever had, yel Sunday morning I Bat op and seemed to 
feel better. Took calomel and opium pills and wl 

. bark solution. I can hardly account for the chai 
.Mouth not bo awfully dry a- it. has 1" • d. I 
merciful and has heard my pray< 

'/' ■ sday, if.///. Good night last !'• ■ I I r to-day. 
Believe I have turned the corner and am improving — 

h a change from my feeli S [ hope 1 

ill continue to improve. Nothing from General Young 
yet It is very Btrange. I am not bo impatient i 
that I am getting better. It is not the h 
but of dying here, that troubles me. 

Wednesday, 17///. Stronger still. Rain (last ni 
ramr through the tent on to my nice in ton 
tin:: up all <lay. making rii 

Such a change, 1 can hardly realise it. nor be graft t'uJ 
enough. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 127 

Heavy rain and squall to-night; all wet, bed and bed- 
ding; the tent is so open that it did not blow down. 

Thursday^ 18M. Another long day. merely weary wait- 
ing; read a book en birds. I am improving still, gain- 
ing strength. Manage to get milk and eggs and apples. 
Wrote Agnes a lew lines on scrap of [taper. Rain every 
day now. Get no news from outside, know nothing of 
what is going on. I wish our government could see the 
suffering that their delay and quibbling about exchange 
is causing. Men dying every hour, reproving their gov- 
ernment for forgetting them and letting them lie here. 

o O CT 

In Georgia it is worse. 

Friday, 19,7*. Another day gone. I am still improv- 
ing. Walk out on crutches a few steps. Am very, 
very weak. Rainy still. Major Morfit, commanding 
prison, must have noticed the scrap of paper on which I 
wrote Agnes, for to-day he sent me up several sheets of 
note-paper with his compliments. Reading all day, 
"Artist's Bride," Emerson Bennett. Poor trash. I 
lornr to hear from home. I have an e^sr for break- 

O CTCT 

fast now, with some toast, and clover or hay tea; for 
dinner, boiled rice which has to be examined ; for sup- 
per, baked apple ami tea. 

Saturday, 20th. Another day and week gone. Three 
weeks to-night since my capture. It seems like three 
months at least. What a difference though between my 
condition now and one week ajjo ! I did not then ex- 
pect to be alive now. My only hope was that my body 
should get sent home. To-night I am well, getting 
stron ry day. Walked out on crutches a little; 

very weak still, lint how much I have to be grateful 
for! I hope I may never forget it. I wish I could re- 



128 OF WILLIAM 1 1: TT. 

■ In. mr. And 
I bid glad thej >wn the worst 

l v think I am safe and comfortablj off, I • 

Daj 
Mi dead Mother, — I have been very ill with 
entd tequent on the exposure after tip 

tion and exhaustion <»ii the .*'.t»tli of July. I 

ik, but have turned the corner and am 
i .. l Young, C. 8. A-, came to see me while 1 
tick, and told me he would aerOuldwl 

he went to Richmond, and do all that he couli 
me ' <»ur lines (either exchanged or parol* 

where I could Boon g LI, <t at Least die am 

I have not heard from him yet It '. 
than a week, and as he promised to write a> soon as he 
buw Ould, I i« :ir his letter must have I am 

not so anxious, now that I i £ 11 I 

hope we -hall be exchanged before l"n;_ r . All the other 

erals have I i down at CharL 

I -hall probably go to Columbia, s - I . »n as I 

well enough. I had a letter from Captain A 
there a few days ago. They are much more comfortable 
there, and want come. I shall be glad ay- 

where, where I ran have company. 1 walked oul 
steps on crutches to-d the firsl time. I am still 

very weak. I ha\ 

our capture. S Richmond uonally. G 

my love to all at homeland to Aunt Carry and 1 
Edwin. S py of tl r if it i 

you. Much 1 VT • P. B. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 129 

I hope my horses and all my things got home safely. 
Dr. White promised to see to it. 

August 23. Still improving and gaining strength. 

W. 

Sunday, 2\st. This has been rather a pleasant Sab- 
bath day. I have so much to be grateful for. I had a 
very good dinner. My appetite has returned. Have been 
reading Prayer-book and Rogers's "Italy." To-night 
smoked ni} 1 - first and only cigar, one that has been in my 
coat-pocket all the time. Just six weeks ago to-night, 
at this very time, I went to see Agnes at the homestead. 
Where shall I be six weeks hence ? In our lines? I 
fear the hope is vain. I wonder if they have been think- 
ing of me at home to-day as much as I have of them. 
I expect they have not as much spare time. Perhaps 
they think that now I am out of danger, and on the 
whole it 's rather a good thing ! ! 

Monday, 22d. Evening. Mark off another day; one 
day nearer home and liberty. Read " Villette ; " don't like 
it much. My friend Jones brought me some nice beans 
for dinner from the garden. I gave him some sugar in 
return. To-night he brought me some peaches. Ru- 
mors of fighting going on. Oh, what would n't I give 
for a New York or Boston paper to-night, or a letter. 
If I bad two legs, I would not stay here long. Played 
chess to-day with Pat. He beats me. I cannot get 
«ted in it. He beats me at checkers too. I be- 
lieve I am getting stupid. I must get where I can have 
somebody congenial to talk with. I dread the journey 
to Columbia, two days. What are they doing at home 
to-night ? I wish I could look in, invisible. 

9 



130 OF will:. 

\ 

1 ! len, w! 

11 hir- 

i.iin. he 
Wa ge. 1 

freadii . I 

find it interesting, u •' u" 1 1 

shed my pa 
I ha K 

W< ■' Vi _':ii. i. a prisoner, fa _ me 

wit!. adventuring. If I ha 

I would wri - I ' 

to day. It would make a very inl I 

them all. I jus- 

• of them. 

'V. -\t ! <. G< ue more day. Major 

Morfit up here thi- 
cha: 

I much 1. but I think 

very little. Apropos, an epigram i 

Our jailer bear> the name of 

A nam ich if any - 

By making rl m - his life to for:' 

het 
For D<X - this Major wtort tit. 

Tliursdmj. 25M. Very warm • We 

some v 
stopped our wl. hing hut t! 

.1 for t: I will kill tl. ml 

'lining t r of 

corpses that an 1 by my tent to-day. irill 

die to-night, the ward-o <■ ... 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 131 

on theii souls, and console and sustain and protect theira 
at home ! I had a good dinner to-day, chicken broth. 
Madigan, whom I have won with the filthy lucre, se- 
cured it for me. He is one of the cooks here. My 
friend Jones of the garden brought his flour biscuits to- 
night. He's a trump. 

Friday, "20/7/. This morning after breakfast, "Waters 
came to my tent and told me he had an order from Ma- 
jor Morfit. to send me to his office to go to Richmond ! 
Can it be exchange ? If so, God has quickly heard and 
answered my prayers. I got my baggage together, a 
cotton haversack, my cane, and wooden foot. In the 
first I have some tea and hard bread, in the latter noth- 
ing ! I was carted to Major Morfit in the same old wagon, 
without springs, waited at his office till seven, when went 
to the train, waited on the platform till nine. Then the 
train came jammed full, no lights, no seats, one man 
with me as guard. I must leave a description of this 
night for some other place. 

Saturday, '21 tli. Of course awake at daylight. Beached 
Burkesville Junction shortly after, where we lay in the 
sun all one day. en route to Danville. Reach Richmond 
at nine. In Richmond at last. Saw Ould. To go 
fh by first flag truce boat! I I wish they knew it at 
home this night. Meantime I go to " Libby," and here 
I am in Libby Prison Hospital, rather comfortably otf. 
S - Twentieth, here. I shall sleep to-night after 

Jit's experience. How can I be grateful enough 
to God for his great mercy. 

Sun 2%th* Quiet, pleasant day. I live compara- 

tively well here, and am quite comfortable. More pris- 
oners come in to-day. Lieutenant-colonel Walker, Han- 



)JR OF WILLI A M 

i \ ' ljutant-general, brought in i 

taken first al Reams StaJ rithin tl tr<ls 

of cur pi- . which be I 

M , \ ia badly hurt. I dreamt it a i 

lost Walker a 1 filth, l>ut 

how andisguisable the gentleman i-. I wai 

taken with him. He kn< bat I had 

him. B t matton for dinner. I am treated with 

marked consideration just uow for some \- 

The Burgeon marked for me good i 

I.iiw.v Pbuob Hospital), 

11k BXOID, -t •'; '-' 28, U 

Deab Motiier, — I w re from Danvillt 

Friday night TraTeled all night. I arrived hi 

ding; went to see Colonel OulcL I am "to 
be scut North by first flag of truce boat," so I liope I 
may reach home before this letter does. I am still v< 
feeble and shall not be fit for duty for several moi 
Nor then for active field duty. I am very well 
here; 1 as Colonel OuM said to m< . •• I. ibbj uot ball 
so bad as it has been represented." 

Hoping to see you soon. I am ever your affectionate 
eon, W. F. Barti : 

B ' ■ Her ( '. S. A. 

Monday^ 20///. Plea-ant. comfortable day. Nothing 
Read u Heart of Mid-Lothi 
( i Adams, Fifty-sixth. Sedgwick, Twenl 

here; not well, looks badly. Very h I 

1 He told his mother afterwards that the statement ss to good 
treatment wi I to met I 

tter. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 133 

I hope '.he flag of truce boat will be here by "Wednesday. 
Still improving in health. I shall be quite well by the 
time I get home if I keep on, and the boat does n't come 
for a month or two ! 

Tuesday, 80th. This morning a letter was put in my 
hands, directed in fathers well-known hand, from mother, 
dated August 3d. It was a comfort to get it, although 
of so old a date. She says F. W. P. had written ; that 
I have not received. My horses I trust are sent home 
ere this. Dr. White promised to send them. George 
should have known enough to have started for home 
with all my other things. 

Wednesday, 31st. The boat is here. We shall go to- 
morrow I expect. To-day the steward brought me a 
note from Arthur, who is up stairs. I sent to Major 
Turner, asking to let him come down. I had no idea 
he was here. Everybody is anxious to-night, hoping it 
may be his turn to-morrow. I shall leave Arthur every- 
thing that I can. I trust this is my last night in this 
horrible place. I want to be in Baltimore by Sunday. 
Home and Saratoga by week after. A week at Sara- 
toga would do me more good than all the medicine in 
the world. 

T7iursday, September 1. Off at last. I gave Arthur 
all that I had, money, etc., gave him a good breakfast 
with me, took note for J. D., borrowed $20 of Captain 
Fox, Thirty -fourth Massachusetts, gave Arthur $10, 
Sedgwick $10, Arthur my watch-chain. He is very 
well. Twenty other officers go. Go down to boat in 
ambulances of boards. An order comes from Colonel 
Ould. I cannot go. It is a bitter, bitter blow after get- 
ting so far. I must go back to prison. Ould says Gen- 



1:1 ' WILLIAM 

# 
era! Walk< r •■■ I op. Th< i ther 

[ think. 1 My heart 

link I and 

th all things for the 1" it P< 
uly kn< 
. 2d. I have learned to play ci ibl 
to | time. ] • allowed ev< n t< 

flic* rs v\ ho If 1 

do not go by the next 1" il I -ill giv< 

Try to com muni ith Arthur ; failed. He will 

awfully about it. He wat I to thj ing 

hoc . 

irday, 3d, I am gettii well, my fan 

thin as when I came hen . I am r much. I 

am reading "Harry Lorrequ I wonder where 

pybody is of those I love. A The 

the family must have returned from Swan 
IT are all at home. Sallie is in Baltimon I think 

Miss \\ th has hardly ventured to Leave 129 this sum- 
mer, t rOt w>rd tO Aitliur to-. lay. 

Sunday, ith. Cloudy, dull day. Morning, read the 
service from eleven to twelve. I wish I could look in 
on them at home to-day. I hope they ha 
inv and ha\a- got the horses home. Ti - 

to have been in Baltimore and comfort and freedom, but 
I am still in misery, a prisoner. 1 have so much 
to be grateful for, it would to to murmur 

lot How much worse it might hai N t so 

well to-day. No exercise, no out of i 
to tell. 

Mon '"// 5th* One day is like anothi . ! play crib- 
k, or ch i ally. The pa] 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 135 

Bay a boat is expected to-morrow. I don't look for it 
till Sunday or Monday. 

Tuesday, Gth. McClellan is nominated by the Chicago 
convention for president. I fear there is not much 
chance of his being elected. I don't like the names that 
he is associated with. 

Wednesday, 1th. Atlanta is ours. The rebel papers 
think it is n't a place of any importance after all. The 
boat is expected daily. I am patient until Monday, 12th. 

Thursday, 8th. My chance of going depends on Gen- 
eral Walker's coming, I suppose. I shall be able to send 
some message this time, at least. Some officers will go. 
Rainy, cold. 

Friday, Oth. Have been a little feverish (typhoid) for 
a day or two ; took dose of quinine last night. Arthur 
came down to-day. He is pretty well. 

Saturday, 10th. (August 23. What would n't I give 
for the promise that I should be at Saratoga with uncle 
and aunt by this date! JVous verroas. I shall probably 
be in Columbia, S. C.) If I had only got away when I 
started, the above wish might have been fulfilled ! It 
is too late, even if I go Monday. The boat is up ; no 
particular?. I hope I may get off, but hardly expect it. 
Arthur is coming down from up stairs to-day. 

Sunday, Wth.. The boat goes to-morrow. Officers 
permanently disabled are to be sent. My rank will 
prevent my going under that head. I must expect to 
be disappointed again. General Walker has not been 
Bent up. Again my hopes and plans go overboard. 
Wrote few lines to mother and Agnes; sent by Cotting. 
Sedgwick goes, promised to call see father. I have 
made up my mind to wait. 



186 J WILLI 

Lumv I' 

I > lb lioi bib, — I write t!. 
by this 1 
whether any of my letters ha I 

at three or four. I n 

26, to be exchanged, and n 
th by r it. Th 

1. I was carried down with I 
ambulance, got urd the boat, and tl 

came for me I i and i 

' mmissioner Child Bald I could i. the 

(rebel) General Walk vrhom I was to be ex- 

changed, had not been Bent up. S 1 

came. It was a bitter disappointment, a- you can im- 

I c raid not even a 
cers who went, or 

change, to send General Walker by I at I 

hardly dare hope I >hall get off on thi 
it will depend <>n Walker's being sent op. I _ 

on the 30th, the 
had. I ha but am Arthu 

up stair- : he 18 v-ry well indeed. I was surp: 

find him here. I hope my horses and all my thi 

ly at ho 3 .1 y should ha', 

sent at once. lh\ Whil . 1 to it. 

I a comparatively comfortable in this 
snfferm, _ ■ 1 faith 

too horrible to speak of. It is a di \ :n- 

i that they do not mal The 

1 government IS ready and wii. 
any terms. I ho] I -hall get 
improving in health, a 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 137 

when so low with dysentery. Give my love to all. It 
»'s useless for me to write, except by some officer going 
North, or else I should often (if I could get the paper). 
Hoping you are all well, I remain ever, 

Your affectionate son, W. F. B. 

Let Uncle Edwin and A. P. know that you have 
heard from me, if you get this. Let Arthur's father and 
mother know that he is in splendid health and spirits. 
I got permission for him to come down and see me the 
other day, when I expected to go away. Gave him a 
good breakfast, and all the money, etc.. that I had left. 
I am going to have him come down again to-day. 

Much love to all, TT. 

I wish you would give Mr. Cutting twenty dollars, as 
a present, for me. He has been very kind to me while 
I have been here. W. F. B. 

M>ndmj % 12///. The boat goes this morning. Thirty 
officers went. It was hard to see them go and think 
that in twelve hours they would be under the old flag. 
I hope I shall not see another load go away without me. 
I am more contented than I was the last time. Arthur 
being here makes it very pleasant. We play cribbage, 
talk, smoke, and study Spanish together; the time passes 
very quickly. I Bhall try and keep him down here as 
long as I can. 

Tuesday, loth. I have moved out into a quiet corner 
of the ward; his bed is next mine. Fisher and Brady 
next. A select party. It is a different thing altogether 
having Arthur here. I don't feel badly about not going 



WILLIAM 

1 f it P 

I a long 

tin: . I old night - I 

i 
b worse 
oil' I mighl 

Wednesday, 1 UK A ' tter from F. W. P. atdii 
ber 2. father told bin I 

chai I. I f Aj :ii i 

tore. Arthur and 1 were eatii her 

when it was received. The tin b more 

quickly than it did. Beautiful moonlight i 
bad to be Bhut up within prison bare. I 
: moon I shall I 

t< '1 on thi and canal. M; tins 

. and to-night. We play poker — 

Thuriday^ \%>th. It was just a month ag 
that I began t<> mend an ell. Oh, h 

1 am for thi th! I fc 

awful disappointments, but when I think ]»«»•.-. 
have 1" en, 1 i an only be thankful 

:.;. A y< ar ago I v. as at Pittsfield, juf \ to 

S What a pleasant time I had. That is ; 

for this year. I am Btill very anxious about mj 
— wi-h I knew they wei i 

anywhere bo long I tan la with them. 

I wish I could get home this month on 
. ; | boat is du 

day. Mak<- a little charm of pea kef 

in evening till ten. Fisher k< splitting with 



MjlJIOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS B MIT LETT. 139 

laughter all the time. Not very well to-day. Beautiful 
night, full moon, too pleasant to be in this place. I 
cannot get my bowels regular. It is> now nearly two 
months since they have been so. 

Saturday, 17th. Beautiful day. Oh, it is too bad to 
lose all this lovely weather. This week has passed very 
quickly. Arthur's being here accounts for it. We play 
poker every evening. Another hitch in the exchange 
question between Hood and Sherman. It is very dis- 
heartening for the poor men. 

Sunday, 18th. Chilly day. Read service all the morn- 
ing. Had no book to read. Quite unwell to-day, very 
weak. 

Monday, 19<A. Pleasant day. Just two months since 
I left "Washington. It seems like two years. I hope 
the end of this month will find me at home, or at least, 
at liberty. Colonel Hooper came down to see me last 
week. He is very well. I am to go and see his mother 
when I get home. One year ago I was at Albany, on 
my way to Saratoga with Mr. Learned. 

Tuesday, 20th. Beautiful day. The Sergeant in one 
of his whims has not been out to buy anything for us 
for several days, so that we have been short. We are 
dependent entirely on the whim of this low, ugly-dispo- 
Bitioned brute. This steward can't manage him as well 
as Cotting used to. Wrote F. W. P. to send by boat. 

Lin by Fiuson Hospital, 
Richmond, September 20, 18G4. 

It was a happy surprise to me to get your letter of 

the 2d, a day or two since. It came through by the last 

ooat. It is the only letter I have had, excepting one 



l i«> " ■ wild /.i v / r, 

from borne (.A I 

did n't think when you wrote, tellii 

mi' . we should be sittin 

frugal meal t . irhen it reached i S ich was 

the case. After I had been 1m -r»- in hospital five or 

.1 la scrap of paper on \\ bi< b 

hasty salutation 60m Arthur. Imagine my Burpi 

haying heard of his misfortune. \- I 
1 _ y the boat which wen! the next d 

to have him allowed to come down and Be 

ie tin- next morning, just as T was I 

liim all the moi thai I had, and bade bii 

After going to the boat in ambuls 
on board, an order came from Colonel Ould that I n 
go back to prison. I c ild not go until General Wal 
was There was nothing to be said. I 

Id not help thinking thai it would at least have been 
in ( )uM to have Bpared me the 1 int- 

ment ol lown on board the boat, to return 

to prison, when he had no intention of letting 
When I came to Richmond from Danville and repoi 
to him, he Baid I «i at North by fii 

of truce ind so endorsed the ord< 

hi re, Nothing was Baid about its depending upon 
Walk coming up, and I believe that was an ai 
thought It was a Bad disappointment to come b 
within these prison walls and bars a: 
on my road to liberty. I looked fo then to the 

doomed to disappointment again. 
1 »pe tli«- next one. which will be here tip 

this week, will bring Walker and take me a\\ iv. In- 

D I • vi" et. It" I . ! 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 141 

not be so impatient, and am not so anxious now as when 
I was so very ill. The Surgeon at Danville recom- 
mended that I be exchanged, as I was in a criti- 
cal condition, and " if I recovered would not be fit for 
duty for many months." I am safely through, though, 
thank God. The thought of dying there in that hos- 
pital, with no one to speak to, not a single officer of our 
army in the place, no one to whom I could trust either 
effects or messages, was pretty hard to bear. I shall 
have much to tell you when we meet, which time, I 
pray, is not far distant. It is a great comfort to me, 
having Arthur here. He is shamming sick in order to 
stay here in hospital, where he is of course much more 
comfortable than "in quarters." lie is very well in- 
deed, and in excellent spirits. I am very anxious to 
hear from home of many persons, especially Macy. I 
heard that he was seriously injured internally by his 
horse foiling on him, and Patten has lost a leg ! I am 
very sorry for him ; hope it is not above the knee. Poor 
Charlie Peirson, his death was very sad. I fear there 
must be others that I have not heard of yet. 

I write this to send by some officer who goes by the 
next boat. I don't know whether letters sent through 
the regular channels reach you. They certain!}- do not 
reach us. This is contraband, but can easily be smug- 
gled inside a man's coat-lining. I fear you will have 
trouble in deciphering it. I shall write mother by this 
boat, but you might let them know that you hear from 
me in case theirs should miscarry. I am doing com- 
paratively well) remember, and am ready to endure it 
ts long as may be necessary. My experience, I suppose. 



L42 ' •' (B . Willi 

M n't 1. "it tills 

jpli.i 

R • any who ha 

1 . 

1;. 

. that t: ' is ii]. 

and Geueral Walker on board, bo I m 
time. It' not, I Bhall give op. 

'". 21st The first thing I heard I rning 

was, " We shall lose I i al." 1 opened i 

and Arthur ' I your val: 

\ that the boat ia op ai I ral Wal 
onboard." So I hope to go by this boat. This n 

k " on i: in, but it would I . I -hall 

hope ; The 1" Friday. Played poh . 

I in about Bhall leave ii with 

Arthur and Brady. 

Thursday^ 2'2cL Nothing about I 
shall eel letter rea ly to Bend in c [do 
noon, told that the boat would 

I was going ; Bhall not feel certain till I am un< 
the flag. Play poker and settle accounts; I am al 

Brady, who (hind. 

>'. The boat d«>- 
ly, to-morrow now. To-night the roll ighl in 

for ua 31 v name leads it again. Fisher 

flanker is down to go. Bra '.;• thur al 

of the quai left The last night in Libby I I 

was taken with a had diarrhoea, up all night, 

//. 24th* Off again. 1 am so ill I can hardly 
stand. Hade Arthur good-by — left him my cl 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 143 

etc., again. On the Allison. I expected every moment 
a summons to go on shore again. Off at last, twenty 
minutes before 10 a. M., down the .Tamos. Ashore at 
Varina. A grasp of a friendly hand, Major Mulford. 

A short ride, and there floats the old flag. May I never 
lose sight of it again. I am too ill to eat. Comfort- 
able bed and state room — lie at landing all night. 

Winchester, Sejjfember 2-t, 18G4. 

My dear Sin, — It is with the greatest relief and 
pleasure that I think how soon you are likely to have 
your son, the General, with yon again, bringing home 
fresh laurels, with which ho might well be content, if it 
were for ambitions ends that he entered the service of 
the country. But we know that he will be satisfied with 
nothing short of doing his utmost for the nation ; and 
that he has surely done ; at least, I cannot conceive that 
he should be fit for service for many months to come. 

Few outside of his immediate family can rejoice more 
at his safe return than I do, little as I can hope to see 
of him. I feel that this is a better world while my 
former colonel is in it. 

I beg that you will express to Mrs. Bartlett the sym- 
pathy which Mrs. Winsor and I feel for yon in your 
great happiness ; though its expression is somewhat 
tardy, its existence is real. 

Very truly and respectfully yours, 

Frederick YTinsor. 

Sunday, 25th. Major Mulford tells me mother is at 
Baltimore. Father has been down to Fortress Monroe. 
I was exchanged early in August, and to think how near 
I came to never being exchanged ! Arrive at Fortress 



Ml .' f. 

Monroe 1 Is G 

5 I 

k late. 
Mondax 

ther tin i this mon 

ind it. Dr. Baxlej 
on very low diet u With well in 

Pleasant p . -till I am i 1 1 tan- 

try once more, and thai 

all abot three letters from 1 . i Win- 

throp. I)' 

7 7/. I )<> not ,L r, » down Btairs. ! 
than I supposed. Dr. B. is very Berious. I hope to 
appoint him and be well in half the tim 
W< N '• York to-morrow. 

I had hoped t<> 1" oongh I bnt 

must now keep the 1km; 
. -.. - 
k. I thought I Bhould ha I Phil- 

adelphia, but we are well through. Oncle Ed. Lunt 

ame in the evening. I 

tin- little dining-r n. I: alm< 

misery and pain, this meeting. Can it 1 • that 

1 mi here again It i< I 

t G mercy to me 
." ' . \ .• . - came agai this m I 

p my bed, very weak. Dr. \ 
my diet and m A by in\ Too 

much to think of to talk mucl 

1 11 r- in -law 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 145 

I see no one but the family. Agnes here in the evening, 
short time. 

Friday, 30th. Agnes came again this morning. She 
had a pleasant visit to Winthrop. I wish I had been 
there. She passed the evening with me. These are 
very happy days, it makes up for every thi 

Saturday, October 1st. Agnes goes to-day. I am not 
well enough to go my way; shall wait till Monday. 
She came this morning, bade good-by, — 't is not so 
hard as the last time. 

Sunday, 2d. Long day. Went down stairs to Aunt 
Carry's in evening. Dr. Van Buren says I must not do 
anything for six months at least. Wrote short note to 
Agnes. 

Monday, 3d. Cannot go to-day. To-morrow. Tel- 
egraph to father. Miss Adams goes on with us. Down 
stairs in evening. 

Tuesday, Uh. Leave this afternoon for Boston, via 
Stouington. Horrid route. I am not in the humor for 
travelling at best. 

JVcJnesday, 5th. Cars at seven, delay at Providence, 
slow train, reach Boston at one. Carriage, Anna at 
depot. Drive directly out. All glad to see me of course. 
Shown to my room — should not know it, beautifully 
furnished and adorned. Bookcase and desk from Ajnies. 

Thursday, 6th. Saw Ned and Billy last night. My 
room looks very well. My swords hung in trophy. A 
set of Prescott complete, from Uncle Ed. and Aunt 
Carry. Paper knife from Miss Adams. This desk is 
just what I wanted. 

Friday, 7th. This being at home again is delicious ; 
comfort and rest. May I never be separated from it 
30 



1 16 u . willia v 

ich an impa lios- 

tilc 

& lh. Short 

\- Cattl -fair we* k then , I 

11. 
lay,§th* Beautiful day. Family go up 1 
An at home with in<-. V 

\ ana told me about their visit 1 u 
"f'/i/, IQth. Sent 1 < > n l: l< 
ira in evening. Anna readii g •■ Pei 
vrA/y, 1 \th. Letter from 

J. Mills, Brady, M mhall. Anna i 

Pi-. review of Lockhart'e 

hur Cm Mulford k< I. I >r. 

Whi me down. Bought •• N 

I don't need to tell you that I am, . im 

you, but I have not Been ai am 

not alio 

my Bystem a prostration which 
to me. My Burgeons put on verj . 
me I must have peri 
treatment, dirt, etc., for six months, and p 
unpleasant things otherwise. I i>r<>; ippoint 

ird to time W. I'. B. 

'-///. 12th. A\'<n t to Boston. Bought carpet, 
table and cloth, brack* A beautiful 1": I rari- 

baldi l>v Pietro Stefani. It is th< I I 

iw. II • Bmashed carryalL Saw n 

that I knew. Boston I 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 147 

Thursday, loth. Rain -storm. Wrote letters. Ar- 
,hur is out. Home to-night. Mulford kept his word. 
Notes from Ben and F. W. P. 

Friday, 1-lth. Rainy. Letter from Agnes at Copake. 
Table and brackets came to-day. 

Saturday, 15///. Rainy. Do not go to town, 

Sunday, 16th. Sweet, long letter from my darling. 
Wrote this afternoon. 

Monday, 17 th. Went to town, saw Ben and F. W. P., 
Murray, many people. Saw Dr. Bigelow. Sent letter 
to Agnes. 

Friday, 21st. Put my leg on this morning, not very 
comfortable yet. Three years ago to-day, Ball's Bluff. 
Wrote Dr. J. Monroe, 5 GO Hudson St., New York, about 
his L 

Saturday, 22d. Had to go to bed this p. m. Bad 
headache, etc., etc. Letter from Agnes, do not read it 
to-night. Sent letter to Agnes. 

Sunday, 23d. Keep my bed all day — read Agnes' 
letter. It is rather discouraging, this slipping up so 
often. I don't make any improvement. 

Monday. 2 1th. Dr. Bigelow is not at home. Sat up 
to-day. Cannot read or be read to, it makes my head 
ache. 

Tuesday, 2ath. Sit up. Not much better. 

Wednesday, 2C>th. Little better; bad headache if I 
hear reading or use my eyes. 

Thursday, 27th. Dr. Crane came to see me. 

Friday, 2*fh. Rain-storm. Sent letter to Agnes. 
Frank Palfrey comes down. Very pleasant evening. 
I smoked a " Manilla." Told him of my engagement, 
stc. Letter from leg man, New York. 



1 [S U WILLI 

in.iiii'!' 
little thai notewortl ife. II 

mained al his home al Winthr 
part, but he made Erequenl 
and one \ isil of several da; i k, wh< 

he met his fi . and passed n 
with her. I [e rode tonally, dr< 

ired and made man;. 

time In reading and letter-writing. His he 
improved upon the whole, bul Blowly. On the 
12th of November he "wrote j •■ I am verym 
encouraged by my condition the Is 

pain, do diarrh< The conditi u of 

his Btump also improved with hi adi- 

tion, and he was able t<» wear his old wooden I 

a 1 1 * ■ w one which he procured al this 
time, with more comfort than before. < m Thai 
giving I );iy. N< r 24, he wrote : •■ I ! 

much I have to give thanks for on this d 
Thai I am b well as I am. When I think 

of what easily might have been!' 1 and on the 
day of the year : — 

Qtfol year I In more ■ 

|ha .May the end of I " ,; "' find me ali 

* better man. ami more deserving ami 

goodness and the love of my darlii 

( ta the l •"-tli of January, I v,; "'. hi 
to Miss M ;. Agnes Pomeroy, of Pittsfield, M 
■achusetts, was formally announced at a 



MEMOIR IF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLKTT. 149 

tival at The Homestead, the residence of her father, 
Mr. Robert Pomeroy, upon the occasion of his 
silver wedding. He passed the winter and sprint 
of 186."> at his home and at Pittsfield. He was 
much out of health, suffering constantly from his 
prison dysentery and from weakness. He applied 
for duty on the 13th of April, but nothing came 
of the application for some time. In the follow- 
ing May, he recorded in his journal that he was 
" much better than since last July " ; and on the 
23d of that month he made another and formal 
application to the War Department, accompany- 
ing his letter with a surgeon's certificate that he 
was able to return to duty. 

On the 1st of June he commanded the mili- 
tary escort of the great procession which that day 
filled the streets of Boston, upon the occasion of 
the ceremonies commemorative of the late Presi- 
dent Lincoln ; and those who saw him then are not 
likely to forget the striking appearance he pre- 
sented as he rode, in full uniform, at the head of 
his column of many thousand men of the three 
irms. 

On the 9th of June he received his orders from 
the War Department to report without delay to 
the Genera] commanding the Ninth Corps, for 
duty. II • arrived in Washington on the 13th, and 
reported himself at the War Department the same 
day. On the 19th of June he took command of 
<he First Division of the Ninth Corps, at Tenaliy- 
town, near Washington. 



WILLI n 

\\ hoald n't I Bend j 1 

I am ami M I was 

. 

bad s wn. I -" : " ! . 

m, and I « - t"t two p. if. Saturday, — rath 
in which to *en months' camp. I 

able inrse ; i 

much 1< . I. than 

it v. 1 montl I hope yon and your \ 

<>ut of town by this time, enjoying fresh 
. 

I am rather pleasantly situated. I a iding 

the Firs! Division of the Corps. My headquarters are 
in a lovely oak 

.1. on the Tenallytown Road, the old Etockville Tike 
which v. . of old. I am just a Little off tl 

in tents. I eping in a tent, all there is 

near by at my n 
The temperature out here under these tn 
different thing from the 6endish heat of that \\ 
town thai consists of the President's house ami tin- Capi- 
tol. I v. as th< [ came . ami it 
nearly killed me. 

M \ Di '-'•:; lit - up tin- road towai 
— thre< well Bituated for water, slope, ami 

amanded by a brigadier, the other two 
nels. I found the command in rather . 
state of discipline. No attention paid to guard-dutj 
drill. I ituial tli it men should feel, now that the 

for which th« ■;. ;ur- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 151 

ther need of discipline, and that the strict performance 
of guard-duty any longer is needless. (I only name 
guard-duty as one of the points by which you judge of a 
regiment's '•breeding" and efficiency.) In this they are 
rather encouraged by a certain class of officers, — you 
well know what I mean if I say the Le Barnes school, 
— and this feeling of expectancy and uncertainty about 
getting mustered out is prejudicial to discipline. 

I had all the regimental and brigade commanders here 
the other night, and gave them a lecture of an hour and 
a half. You would have smiled to see me laying down 
the law, surrounded by about twenty of these old birds. 
I fancy it woke them up, for I have been pleased to see 
a marked change for the better already. 

It seems funny to be here on this old road, in com- 
mand of a Division, where I marched up under your 
baton not many months ago on foot. I intend to ride 
up to Poolesville as soon as the weather is a little cooler, 
if we remain here, and going over to Ball's Bluff and 
Leesburg. I wish you would come out and go too. 

Charlie Whittier and Macy were over to see me the 
other day. Whit is the same fair boy as ever. I sup- 
pose the Army of the Potomac will be dissolved soon ; 
an order will soon be out mustering out "veterans."' 
which will reduce it very much. 

Miss Jennie Turnbull proposes to convert me from 
my dislike to Washington, so that I shall never want to 
go away from here after a little while. I should like to 
"give odds" on it. 

Dear Frank, this is n't a very satisfactory letter. 
There are many things that I have to talk with you 
about. 



152 ' LLIAM IT. 

I 

.iiil\ . he 

mmander, and i 
him thai all the troops in I 

ed "lit. and he adds " I 
i I 1 i 1 1 < 1 I am not able 

hoi weather \ tally trying to him. He 

lefl his command on the 14th July, when 

broken up, and thai 
hi^ actual service, though, through tin- kimli ■ 

aton, I iretary of War, he w 

mustered oui of the military till a much 

later d rhe following correspondence in 

lation to a leave of abs< hich b 

though a little later in date than v hich 

immediately follows it, may i Ln- 

I here. 

nfidential.) 

L6 Bboad S 

Hon. E. M. Stan ron : — 

/• »Sir, — V«>u were kind enough i 

l'rw . when I called to pay my you 

before leaving Washington, that yon would be 
anything for me al any time. I take yon at 
and ask you frankly for advice on a Bubject whi 

: my friends, in the army 
>ut 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 153 

They arc desirous that I should visit Europe before I 
leave the army, — that I should be there while an officer 
of the U. S. Volunteers, — and wish me to apply for a 
six mouths' leave of absence. You are aware that I lost 
my leg in the first year of the war, and have been in the 
service (active) ever since, being badly wounded again 
at the assault on Port Hudson in the arm and other 
foot (where my conduct caused you to offer me a bri- 
gadier-general's commission), and again in the Wilder- 
ness. My health was very much impaired by my irn* 
prisonment last summer, and I have not been well since, 
although on duty in command of the First Division, 
Ninth Corps, until within a few weeks, after I was fit for 
any duty. I have not sought for assignment to any duty 
since the muster-out of the troops, for I knew there 
were a hundred applicants for every one place, and I 
did not care to swell the number. I am at home, await- 
ing orders. I thought I would take you at your word, 
sir, and instead of sending a formal application for this 
leave, backed by such influence as I might command, 
I would simply ask you what favor such a request 
would meet with from you. 

Colonel Conolly, Adjutant-general (late) of forces in 
Canada, is desirous that I should visit England while I 
am still in the army. 

Will you be kind enough to tell me your views on the 
subject, and whether you will grant such a request? 

I should expect to be mustered out at the expiration 
of the leave unless my services were required, which is 
not probable. 

Even if the leave were to be on half or without pay, 
trom the time when I should otherwise be mustered out, 



J. I " OF WILLI A 1/ 

it would meet tip my Prii 

: m d. i an an- 

ik as ii ment to 

illy and sincerely, 

.nt, 

\V. I". lJAKi i 

Wai: I 

Wabbxx* 
Deab Sir, — Your note of the 9th u I 

iin- this morning, ami tin; Adjutant-general ha 
directed t<> give you six months' lea^ with 

tli«- privilege to go beyond the Limits of the CJni 

I would be glad to continue tin- pay, but it 
would lead to bo many applications of a similar nature 
as to become necessary perhaps to revoke all. I 
question of pay therefore can remain suspended, but it 
i- probable that the Bervice will require the a to 

be without pay. Tours truly, 

Edwin M. Si avion. 

BbBYST Ma.k >l:-«. im i:\1- BaBI I 

16 Bruail 8treet t Boston. 
(Draft of answi 

Deab Sir, — T c.-mnot express to yon my appr 
tion of ami thanks for your very kind note of the 12th, 
in which you so graciously grant my request for le 
of b I cannot forget your kindness in t' 

. ami Bhall try not to forfeit your favorable consid 

lion. 

V i addressed me aa Brevet Afajor . ami I 

have been informed that Buch a brevet had been 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 155 

ommended, and that Mr. S. had written to you con 
cernine its confirmation, but I have not received any 
official notice of it, and the leave is made out for Brig- 
adier-ffeneral. In the matter of pay, you have said 
all that I could expect, and I am content to leave the 
question suspended, and await the decision that circum- 
stances may dictate, judging that it is not doubtful up 
to the time when I should otherwise have been mustered 
out. 

I have just received the leave from the Adjutant- 
general's office. Yours, etc. 

Headquarters, First Division, Ninth Corps. 

July 8, 18G5. 

My last was written about the 24th ult., since which 
time I have changed my views somewhat about re- 
maining in the service. I find that it is a very different 
thing from what it used to be in war times. There 
is not half the incentive to labor on your command 
that there once was, and especially now, when these 
troops are restless and dissatisfied about getting mus- 
tered out, it is almost impossible to get men or offi- 
cers to do their duty properly. As I told you, I found 
the Division in a poor state of discipline. I have suc- 
ceeded in bringing it up somewhat, but it has only been 
by my constant personal supervision. 

I have roughed more officers, and reduced more non- 
coms, to the ranks, these last two or three weeks, than in 
any other year of service. There is a very visible and 
gratifying change, still there is not that charm about the 
life that used to fascinate. You feel that the object, 
the aim, of this discipline is gone. You cannot feel that 



WILLI 

. in tin- pn 
the ben this <lrill and trainu 

I that I i 
in\ - I might have alwaj I 

had lefl tl 

Th< many pleasanl thi 

There is alwayi d 

isure in having :i anmber of men und< 
I have not been quite bo well here as I 
home, and I really Buppose it would 1 
be farther north this summer. For all that, Fran] 
will l>c ;i very Bad day for 

I shall 1"- in Boston the 20th. I 

look in ir forward to the 21s! with dread. I have been 

■ 

informed that a few w 

among others, and, Frank, I'll Bwear I can't get up 
►re Buch a crowd as that, ami 3peak. What can I 
I am not jokii _. I feel ve] ;• unpl< asantly al 

it I was diking with Charley Whitl 

day; he is afraid he will be called on, and w< 
ining in sympathy. 
By the way. Charley hi 
in the - er than he could have hop 

fficer, when bo w will be i ! . — 

Adjutant-general of one of the departmi Pa- 

cific, eithi r or ( aliforoia. [I 

plimenl to him, and every one b 

favorite throughout the army. Be will be in 
ton till the first of August Macj 
in tl lal Army Potomac He inb ' 

I b n't suppose he i r the T 

mustered out, but that is retained for th< 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 157 

the way, I have something to tell you which will please 
and interest you to know. I was recommended some 
time since for a "Brevet Major-general" for "gallant 
and meritorious conduct" at the Mine. I had never 
heard of it before, and indeed had never thought of such 
a thing, and I was not a little surprised, as you will be, 
to hear it. Colouel Marshall told me that he saw the 
report. Very few of the recommendations for brevets 
have been acted upon in this Corps yet, and I suppose 
mine is tiled with the rest. So I don't expect to get it 
before I leave the service. But it is rather gratifying 
to know that the recommendation has been made, even 
if there is nothing more. I never ask any questions, 
and 1 suppose that is why I did n't know of this before. 
They seem to expect if a man wants a brevet, he will 
apply or ask for it, which to me (I may have a false 
idea about such things) seems a contradiction in terms. 
An officer, speaking in a complimentary way of my for- 
tunes the other night, asked me why I did n't " apply for 
a brevet." To cut him down, for he was one of them, 
I rather lied when I said, "I did n't know that was the 
way you got them." I have learnt that, since I have 
been out here. Why, Frank, we used to think that our 
officers who had been brevetted in the Mexican War 
were special heroes, and had done some extraordinary 
feat of courage and devotion, but this sort of thing makes 
me rather skeptical about the value of a brevet in the 

armies of the Republic 

Yours ever, Frank. 

July 21, 1SG5, was " Commemoration Day " at 
Cambridge, when Harvard College welcomed her 



WILLI 

bo had Berved in the war. At the dim 
which lebration, the Pi 

bad been made, inti 
. by alludii in and 

arrior maimed and deprived of an i 
which was the inscription, " The li< eft," 1 

and Baid thai General Bartlett's he 
and was always in the right ; or the 

intry. General Bartlel i reply 

with evident diffidence, and Baid thai i not 

li to detain the audience, and that it' he bad all 
the eloquence in the world, he could d 
his feeling i. Then he Beemed to hesi and 

Colonel Henry Lee, the Chief Marshal of tl 
rose and Baid : " As the Speal the House of 

Bur inia said to \V. 

down, sir. your modesty is equal to your 
and that surpasses the power of any I; 1 

p ."' Enthusii pplause 

the soldier *:\\<l no more. 

1 Memorandum from < I Henry Lee: — 

".! 

1G50. 

" 11 ili-i I ••«•. 

Ton! nqucur. 

■ 

•• This is tin- legend beneath the portrait of a hand 

'. 1 1 1 ir hora I with a h 

:', u hook for bia sword-hand, :i wooden leg in rap 

bearing and condition of this war;; aai 

l I r L >ring the legend in French and English.'' 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRAXCIS BARTLETT. 159 

General Bartlett was married at Pittsfield, on 
the 14th of October, 18G5, to Miss Mary Agnes 
Pomeroy, a most charming and admirable woman, 
to whom he was devotedly attached, as she was to 
him. lie sailed for England with his wife on the 
18th of the same month, and they returned to 
America in June of the following year. Their 
trip was successful and delightful, and Avas of 
great service to the crippled and exhausted sol- 
dier. His letters and journals tell with suilicient 
fulness the story of their wanderings. 

4 Westrourne Square, Hyde Park, Wkst. 
London, November 8, 18(35. 

There you have it in full, our present location. The 
Poineroys have taken a house, very nice one, comfort- 
ably furnished and served, in Oxford Terrace, a short 
ride from here; hut Agnes' cousin insisted on having 
us two with him. He lives in very good style in this, 
one of the best localities. We are of course much more 
comfortable here than we should be at hotel or lodgings, 
and are hardly ahle to realize that we are in a foreign 
land, for thus far we have been, both here and at Rock 
Park (Liverpool), so much at home. We staved nearly 
a week at Rock Park, getting our land legs on again. 

We had a very rough passage. I was quite sick the 
first day or two, much to my disgust and surprise. But 
Gus. Perkins, who was with us, consoled me by telling 
me of his brother-in-law, who made fifteen passages 
without being in the least sick, and the sixteenth suffered 
dreadfully the whole voyage. Which, though it quieted 



I M ! \!<>//: OF WILLIAM 

m\ • . did nol 1 ' 

the first few <1 1\ -. We had 1 
.:h <l.-i\ ;ly impossible for me I 

anything satisfactory just now, ai leveral 
talking to me. I have been about London all 
ing a little 
of the li 

lb Colonel Palfbey, — I can*t resist josl :i«l«ling 
my mite to Frank's letter. I shall report to yon all 

honor done t ie we both love so well. He is a i 

der to everybody, walking so well, 
end. The ship-board people thought the Btory of his 
having but one leg a Canterbury, and I did not woi 
for he managed remarkably. I am very proud of him. 
Do 3 i think it unpardonable? I am We 

are enj very moment I think it would I"- hard 

ind two happier people than Prank and □ 
where in Christendom. I am hoping b< »me 

• week. ( reneral Weatheral] 
Hoi -guards will 1"- back then, and he ;- 

»urs. We lown to my cousin's hunting- 

on Friday. There is to 1"- a " M 
I mk will ride, though h<* will not follow the hon 

1 i sped we shall enjoy tin- novelty of the Bight 1 

much. But I must not steal Frank's thunder, and I 
sliall jo l-by now, only adding much love 

your dear wife and my cordial remembrai M your 

family. I don't know what Frank will in- 

<n, but I could not help it. 

y truly yours, A NES Bl 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 161 

Friday, 10///. I was interrupted, and I find that 
Agnes has been putting in a word, which you won't 
mind. I have only a few minutes to write to-day, for 
we are off in an hour or two to the country, where 
George has a hunting-box. Agnes and Mrs. G. will 
drive down in the coupe, and I shall go by rail later. 1 
have a note from George this morning, who went down 
yesterday, saying he had a good day. The " Meet " to- 
morrow is about two miles from the " Box." I shall 
ride one of his thorough-breds, but I do not expect to 
follow the hounds, as it would be very foolish, not hav- 
ing my own saddle, etc. 

Lord Maiden is ' ; master of the hounds " (it is a sub- 
scription pack). I expect to enjoy meeting some of 
these birds as much as seeing the hounds. I have n't 
time to tell you about George, what a "swell " he is on 
wines and cigars, and that sort of thing. I will write 
you next week if it is a possible thing. 

I have not done anything in the way of troops yet, as 
General Weatherall has gone into the country for a 
week's shooting. Next week he will be here. I saw a 
very handsome troop of horse-guards in the street, fine- 
looking fellows, all mounted on black horses, lint if I 
were queen of England, I'll swear that I would have 
better soldiers on guard in front of my quarters than 
were in front of Buckingham Palace the day we drove 
by there. They were not soldierly sentinels. They 
neither inarched well nor came about well, nor carried 
their pieces well, of which more anon. 

I must say good-by, old fellow. I hope to hear a word 
from you pretty soon. I am very well and strong. Take 
ttiy beer for lunch like a man. Love to all yours ; ex- 
11 



[62 ■' WILLIAM 

cose thii habb y letter. I know yon will 
oever lie, even oo( of ] >< »1 i t < - 1 1 
i believe me, with much lo 

I . 

Onlv time for a word this ship. I. t S iturday, 
down I l hunting-box, and if you will beli 

it, rode one of his thorough-breds in I 
an English hunting-saddle after the boui 
at the death. It w\ rt I did not doanytl 

t lish in the way of big jumps, of course, I 
wanted two legs bo much in my life. I would h 
shown the field some dean h< incy, for n v 

nut was a • _ ■• i ■." ■' tuds to win a Bteepl( I 

rode upward-; of twenty miles, and then, u> the 

had been lost, and my leg began to chafe, I tur 
home. It wa> a beautiful sight, Frank, — whal I 1 
always wanted to Bee, but I >uld 

take par( in it. Lord Maiden is mast 
and was much interested in my riding, i b I am 

to have the "brush." I wish you could Bee the hi 
that my groom rode. He is a wicked one; but it' 
shouM "put him at" a ham he would od if it 

i absurd, I was going to - Id take 

He is called M Greek Fire," and is one of tl 

in England. He had a hard hunt I 
before, and so was very quiet that day. 
glad I was able to see bo much of a hunt t [ gol 
in an English sad. Hi' much better than I . ■ 
you know in riding here you put you: the 

iron up to your instep, SO that was just the thing for iny 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 163 

wooden foot. I shall have to leave a good deal of this 
to tell you. 

Yesterday we came in from Walton on Thames, Stur- 
gis's place, where we had been to dine and pass the 
night, — splendid house, everything very swell and com- 
fortable. I enjoy the life here very much, especially 
the country life. I like their style in this thing. I wish 
I had time to write you a long letter, but have patience. 
I go to Aldershott next week, and Woolwich, with 
Colonel Conolly. He has written to General Sir James 
Scarlett, commanding, that he is coming to bring me, 
and so, if he is going to have anything worth seeing, to 
put it off till the day we are there. He served twenty 
years with Sir James, on his staff and otherwise, and I 
could n't have a better man to go there with. I am go- 
ing to see guard-mounting in St. James's Park, too, next 
week, with him, and will tell you of that. It is not the 
time of year to see troops here, as they have no field- 
days and reviews now ; but nous verrons. 

We dine with Weatherall next week. He is one of 
the swells here in the army line. I saw him at the 
Horse-gnards yesterday. Also dine at the Army and 
Navy Club one day with Conolly. 

Yours, Frank. 

Xorember 29. 

I doubt my getting off a long letter to you this time. 
I have been kept in the house these last three days, and 
indeed in my room, by a very severe boil (more like a 
carbuncle, the Doctor says), just on the small of my back, 
bo that I could neither wear leg nor even pants. I shall 
get out to-morrow, I think. Since I sent you my last 



\\\\ M OF WILLI IT. 

. I have d 
the -l if we w< d( don □ : i i 1 1* 

Oily, :n • 1 - 1 n « m 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 L r • I I 

i , in i >:ii» \ of the < loldsl 

Their guard-mount different from ours, you ki 

The inspection is all done at the barracks I 
march oat Thebandtoms in i tan e <»f 

the quadrangle, and playi while the two guard* itand 

u r each other, about forfo first 

relief being Bent out to pott, when the reli< 
round the <>M guard marches off, the i ird sa- 

luting, and every officer withio sight of the not 

on duty nor even in uniform, lifting the I 

iding uncovered as reverently while England's color 
goes by, as if it w- gland's queen, and I think it is 

splendid, and as it should be in i ountry. 1 met 

or two pleasant men there, one Seymour, Captsia 
1 Iramston, Colonel. 
The next day but one Conolly bad me to breal 
at the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, and after that 
ire went down the river on one of the many Bwift-ply- 
i 1 1 _: . diny little steamboats, under th<- many brid 
getting the best view of St. Paul's, and the Monumi 
and Somerset House, an immense palace now used 
tirely for government offices, and the old Tower with 
many associations. How I wish I could remember all 
the stories about the Tower that I knt-w when a I 
By the shipping of all nations "below bridge," and the 
wonderful docks, by Greenwich and Blackwall and to 
Woolwich, where the artillery camp, arsenal, school, 
barrack are. We found Colonel Reilly, whom 

we were looking for, mat turning out with hi- trOOfM 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 16/) 

m full dress, for the burial of a soldier. The uniform 
is very handsome, the horse artillery being the only 
corps I believe that retains the full dress jacket or tunic. 
The officers' dress was one labyrinth of gold lace and 
bullion. Every man and officer has to turn out for the 
burial of a private soldier and follow the coffin at slow 
march to the grave. Again, as it should be in every 
army. While they were gone we looked through the 
new hospital, built here on a very large scale, and with 
every modern improvement. Then we went through 
the academy, which is devoted entirely to artillery stud- 
ies. The cadets were fine looking fellows, wearing those 
nobby little artillery fatigue caps on the side of their 
head, and with their tight fitting jackets, looked very 
soldierly. The gymnasium here is the best I ever saw. 
Then we went back to Colonel Reilly's quarters. He 
had not returned from the burial, but lunch was ready, 
and Conolly and I being ready for it, we sailed in. The 
Colonel returned soon and took us through the men's 
quarters, etc., etc., which were in the order that you can 
imagine. Officers do not return the salute of men with- 
out arms here. We drove in the Colonel's trap over to 
the chapel, which is very beautiful, and has one of the 
finest arches that I have seen (Byzantine I believe). 
Many of the windows are memorial, put up by the dif- 
ferent troops of horse artillery. The mess-room in the 
main barracks is a very large and elegant room, and the 
silver superb. You would fancy yourself in some very 
swell club, from the space and comfort. We came home 
by rail, and dined at the Army and Navy Club. 

I shall have to stop just where I am, for I must get 
the parcel off in time, and this must go by mail to 



WILLIAM FRA 1 1. 

\\ , i . I i . . 

a trifling souvenir for Chrisl I 

wail _ patiently for a Ion. I ; 

it ii. . long from ili'- time yon I o taking to 

it. \\'i:li much love to all j 
\'» ely, 

Bbigiitox, /' 1 1, 1805. 

1 1 ;it tin' N t of Engl in 1. in the 

height of tl m, in comfortable apart 

on the Parade, where the world i- continually ■ 
and repassing. W< ound fl" 

lor and dining-room in front, dressing-room and 1;. 
bed-room in rear. We li n trying for ro 

two w k ks, but everything is fulL The Adams< - 1. 
been Btaying down here, but went to town thu 
We had a very kind 1 Adams lav, 

asking us to go there Friday, but we had taken tl 
rooms and did not like to lose them. She had been ex- 
pecting us down here, as I to! 1 Mr. Adams thai 
were comi \ - we could _ able apart- 

ments. Charlie Adams is with them now, and \. . 1 
him \\ ben we return to town. 

Y jterday, Frank, was the best day I have had in 
England. We went down to Aldershott, under chs 
of < lonolly, on invitation of I S J 

We found his carria . waiting at I 

© 

tion, and were soon at his house, where we received a 
cordial welcome from the old General. II fine 

looking old fellow, whit'' whiskers and mou tall 

and II'- won hi- K. ( '. I». in the Crimea. Sis 

itafl w< men, well d The 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 167 

were all out in line, awaiting our arrival, so we started 
for the field at once. The General rode a stunning big 
thorough -I) red, and we went in his carriage with two of 
Lady Abinger's nieces. The field of Aldershott extends 
for miles without a tree or fence, nothing but barren 
heath, with a fair division of hilly and level ground. 
Of course at this season of the year the ground was wet 
and soft in some places. The old General showed me 
his morning report before we went out, where I saw 
that out of 7,000 men he could only get out for work 
about 4,500, and he asked me if I had not experienced 
the same annoyance. We know just how to sympathize, 
don't we, Frank? You see our army is not the only 
one where your effective men are consumed by fur- 
loughs, details, extra duty, etc., etc. Sir James's carriage 
was allowed to drive inside the line of sentinels, and 
stand just in rear of the reviewing officers' post. The 
day, you must know, was perfect, the first sunny day I 
have seen in England. This long line of cavalry, horse 
and foot artillery, engineers, and infantry, all in their 
brilliant uniform, was no common sight to an Ameri- 
can soldier. There were two regiments of Highlanders, 
which added color and effect to the picture. The Gen- 
eral and staff started around the line, and the bands be- 
gan each in turn, as with us, but, also, the commander 
of each brigade, with his staff accompanied the General 
along the front of his own line, the commander of each 
regiment and troop and battery the same, which I think 
is a good plan, don't you ? for a regimental or brigade 
commander likes to see how his men look and stand just 
as well as the commanding general. The engineers had 
their whole pontoon train out with them, the Division 



WILLIAM FR I 

ambulances and wa drawn ui>, — in short, tfa 

ision \\ is in perfect marching order, n un 

i. In oiarchii dry and artillery 

ting, then the engineers, then infantry. Tl 
bed by divisions) company officers on the flan 
only mounted officer! sainted, and I noticed that the 
(. eral returned the salute of each, but did no! 
the colors as every other officer in the group did. I 
Highlanders did the best marching. I bai 
in America. The bands of each brigade w< re massed in 

one, which Bl 1 opposite us while its brigade passed, 

and, as yon can imagine, made great music 1 airy 

band, which merely fell back :i little while the infantry 
was passing, now came forward, as the cavalry wai 
pass again at trot This was \< ry good, the horses ac- 
tually keeping step with the qui oato movement 
The Baddies of the hussars and the harnesses of the :u - - 
lillery were beautiful to behold, the chaini 
burnished so that they looked like Bilver. Tl i 

browned " breach-loadii _ A inch. 

The pontoons and wagons went l>y. also, at trot, their 
equipments as perfect and the uniforms of the drh 
as handsome as in the artillery. It \s ;- something thai 
I wished many times that you were by mj Bide 
with me. The General now gave his brigadiers and 
if artillery and cavalry a general ides of what he 
ited done, and then, telling us how we could 
the movements, left us in charge of the p marshal, 

who had a guard to keep spectators from ink 
with the troops. Sir James's cai with our ps 

i inside this [guard, and privili 
will, so aa not to be in the way of th It' I had 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 169 

known how it was to be, I should have gone prepared 
to ride, as the General had a horse ready for me. But 
we saw very well from the carriage. Front was changed 
to the rear, the cavalry sent off to the left to harass the 
flank of the enemy, a heavy skirmish line sent forward 
which opened fire at once, advancing in beautiful order, 
taking the different crests, which were quickly capped 
with artillery, opening as soon as it was in position, the 
first line and supports moving up, keeping their dis- 
tances well, now moving to the right or left as imagined 
necessity required. 

It was all so natural and so real, that I expected every 
minute to hear a bullet whiz by my ear, or a shell go 
screeching over my head. I saw one flaw, which of 
course I held my tongue about (but which the General 
himself spoke about and condemned afterwards) ; the 
pontoons were sent forward, ready to throw across a 
canal that intersects the field, and they were right up 
with the skirmish line without any support, and being 
very large and heavy and conspicuous, they would have 
been an easy mark for a good gunner, or have fallen an 
easy prey to a determined dash of cavalry, which could 
easily have broken through the skirmish line. The 
pontoons are unlike ours, — open wooden boats, — but are 
cylindrical buoys, about twenty feet long and four feet 
diameter, on which the timbers are laid, and being made 
of iron, air-tight, would be transformed into pepper-boxes 
by a clever gunner in no time in such an open country 
as that. However, the skirmishers cleared the way, and 
the pontoons were got into the water in safety, and the 
bridge very quickly laid, over which part of the infantry 
passed ; the rest, and the artillery, which was all this time 



17 ( > MEMi wii.i.i a m . rr. 

firing over our heads from the in our r< -sed 

one bridge farther to the right, the . by 

one on the left. We went over tin- pontoon, which 

ding the carri and by th( 

bridge on accounl of the horses. It took them al 
oty-five minutes, I should think. t<» gel the bri 
ly for troops. The enemy (?) d in full 

leral advance was made, while I ilry 

charged from the flank. 

We drove around through the barracks, whi 
the picture of neatness, hack to sir Jai lunch* 

Lady Scarlett we round a nice, dignified old lady. We 
ul<o found that after an early breakfast and a long morn- 
ing, we were quite ready for the substantial lunch to 
which I presently handed in u my lady."' \ • r lunch. Sir 
Jam.- -j» ike of the mistake of having those pontoons in 
such an exposed position, and I was pleased to find that 
I had Been it. 1I«' said I musl go down there again in 
the Bpring, when he will have twice as many troops, and 
I shall only be too glad to d rhey were all v 

COrdial and kind, and I don't remember a more enj< 
ble day. It «>nly needed an enemy and ball cartrid 
without the lunch and ladies, to make it lib 

that we In • We had to go back 

to Lon. Ion to tak.- the Brighton train, and got b< 

comfortably. 

D L5. Yesterday we walked for an hour and 

a half oh the parade, and drove in the afternoon. [< is 
very crowded and tnd you see all the swell 

turnouts. 

Bui I must cut this short, or you will be b 

Thank- for your nice letter, received la I am 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 171 

ielighted to know that you are so nicely "fixed" for 
the winter. Agnes sends love to your wife, and says 
your description of your cozy housekeeping just makes 
us want to go and do likewise. Write me when you 
have time. Letters from home are a great treat, and 
impatiently looked for from week to week. 

With a merry Christmas and happy New Year, and 
with much love from, both to both, ever yours, 

Frank B. 

We shall be in Paris by New Year's. 

He enjoyed himself in Paris, but his leg was 
painful. Theatre-lover as he was, he was singu- 
larly little pleased by the French theatre. On 
the other hand, he was much impressed and 
touched by the celebration of Mass in the Chapel 
of the Invalides. 

It was the most grand and impressive thing I ever 
saw or heard. To sit under those old battle stained 
flags and think of all the scenes they had been in, 
of the blood that had been shed around them, and 
then to listen to this splendid music from the Guides' 
band, was more than I could stand. The associations 
crowded upon me in a flood. Martial music always 
affects me, but here to sit among the old heroes of the 
first empire, under the very flags they had fought over 
and won, under the same roof where lie the ashes of 
emperor and leader, was to me intoxicating, overpow- 
ering, and I cried like a child. It was foolish and 
weak and sentimental, I suppose, but I could not help 



L72 HI. VOIR OF WILLI A M ll' I 

it. It la tl. ■ ility thai 

I'Emperenr " en i ■;. time I j 
the 1 odOme. 

They went to Mareeillee and Nice, and the 
drove along the Corniche to Genoa* < to the L9th 
of January, L866, he is on Italian soil, and 
writes : — 

These Italian BOldu rs that wo s< i do not I 

trim ami clean and dandy-like a> tb<- gallant little 
Frenchmen. They would do just aa g 
. but there is a u r, »>d deal i 

Hia first impressions of Italian scenery are thus 
recorded : — 

>ing through Bracco to the pa Velva, or the 

Col, we had a view more extensive than any I 

I. king across a small bay and over a high bill, 
we \ liif waters of the Medifc rrai 

wards Genoa, while beyond all that were the beautiful 
Al; ed with snow, which we bad kepi in sight 

from Nice. It waa a very beautiful \ shut 

wt, as we entered the pai tfully. Bui 

v to Burprise when, turning from tl 
bad left, we looked forward again, and there, o^ 
ing from our high position miles and miles ol mounl 
and I at length on that grand bank 

of white clouds rolling up from the horii . That 
grand bank of clouds i> an eternal one, and 
ions n I mountains, tinged t.> purple in the 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 173 

slanting sunlight, are the Apennines of Bologna, a hun- 
dred and fifty miles away. 

By Pisa they went to Florence, where lie was 
treated with distinction by the Minister of the 
United States, the accomplished scholar and gen- 
tleman who does so much to sustain the credit of 
American diplomacy abroad. The growing ten- 
dency of his mind and heart towards a deep inter- 
est in religious matters was shown by the regular- 
ity with which, in these continental wanderings, 
he found a Protestant church to which to go on 
Sunday. 

"Bella Firenze," 
Hotel de la Grande Bretagxe, January 29, 1866. 

Beautiful Florence, it really is, dear Frank. I like 
it immensely. We have been here three days, and have 
made good progress in sight-seeing. That is, in our 
comfortable way. I do not believe in making a bore of 
it, and I don't intend to work any harder over here than 
I should if I were on duty at home. If it were any one 
else but you to whom I was writing, I should, perhaps, 
make an apology for long silence ; but I know that no 
such thing is necessary between us. I have received 
two letters from you since I wrote; one at Paris, and 
one last night here. Both delightful; the last doubly 
so, because twice as long as the first. 

Wo have boon on the march most of the time since 
the last of December, when we left London for tha 
continent. We left with more regret than Americani 
generally do, I fancy, and Paris will have to be very 



|,| U 117/ I. /AM . I /• 

k • 
, in the Bpri 
I have fell that yon would see mj 

Uy, and i n "fall oar doings, and latterly I I 

thai there was so much to tell yon, thai I did not 
w wlit-: gin. I am Balti dly l«>t 

»od for " talk." either at your fireside or mine, for 
• few years, ami I think of the en when tl. 

are bo many things that 1 cannot write about 

bring things down t<> this point from Wt 

Bpent a week there. N< w Year's 
body in th>- Btreets. The Boulevards Lined with tl. 
little booths or Bhopa for tin 

p and whistle." Everybody in t!. l-na- 

tnred and happy. 

The politeness and kindly feeling for each ol 
among tin- lotffi a \< very Btriking. I could not 

help noticing, for example, en New Fear's morni 
there was a blind man opposite oar windows in th< B 
de It Paix, ami while the well-dressed ami upper 
passed him by with nnconoern, only one now ami then 
Btopping to drop something in his hat. nol 

that way without bestowing his or her 

mite from their own scanty .store, — the woman with 
tin- big load on her head balancing it with one hand 
while with tho other she hunts in the for 

■II ; tin- porter, harrying by, Bets down his 
Load and drops into the hat a coin, with a kindly word of 

owner. It was wry tone!. 

since Been more of the same traits. 

Our quarters were very good at the Hot.] Westmin- 
. mar the Tuileriee ami Boulevards, in I Li 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 175 

Place VendOme with its beautiful column. Around the 
foot of this shaft, you know, is an iron fence, and there 
were the numberless wreaths of immortelles hanging on 
the paling, placed there by the old soldiers of the Em- 
pire and constantly renewed, and never removed except 
by time. On the front of the pedestal are more costly 
and elaborate ones, but not nearly so significant as those 
simple offerings by humbler hands. 

I did not do anything in the way of sight-seeing, but 
devoted myself to getting a good idea of the city, and 
now I can take yon to any part. It is a very cos// city 
to learn, — very different in that respect from London, 
which I believe is worse than Boston to a stranger. I 
was there so long that I believe I know it pretty well 
now. 

We did the paintings in the Louvre in one day, and I 
was disappointed at not finding any of Vernet's battle- 
pieces til ere. They are all at Versailles, I believe. 

The l>ois de Boulogne is the resort in the afternoon. 
It does not compare with the Central Park in the way 
of artificial nature. There is more wood and water, 
nothing else. Some of the w r oody drives, and especially 
rides (Agnes and I rode one day), are very beautiful. 
You see many swell turnouts, the best and most elegant 
belonging to the demi-monde. These women. Frank, are 
the leaders in the way of taste and style, and have such 
a command of money that ladies cannot vie with them. 
They set the fashions for the world. 

Agnes thinks that 1 wrote you from Paris, but I 
have not any record of it on my log-book. It seems, 
though, as if I must have told you about going to the 
Hotel des Invalides. I know I wrote lien a letter from 



WILLIAM /'/: : 

P rod it may be thai I am thinking of tin I haO 

i abonl thai - nothii 

will The tomb of the I 

uificent, but not nearly bo imp • l 1. 

I mast I ' iris or I Bhall i i 

journey to 

and rather an inl 
from the hill overhanging the town, taking in tl 
and ts very fine. In the bay i 

where Monl . yon km and it 

j hard to realize that that blue water • Medi- 

terranean. I could li:i for hours recall] 

all the memories and ass< that tl I of its 

utiful waters stirred up. I only wish I could] 
ber all that I have ever known, or that you were with 

with your faithful memory and large know' 
past tirai 9, to make th< loubly inter< 

. one night at Marseilles. Then • 
through Toulon with its harbor and fori 
through mi] • erlasting <»li\ i 

tli<' hills terraced to the top, lool 

way to the upper n \ ■ — now 

and then a vineyard. At Nice ed a week, en- 

joying much tin- warm Bunshine and the 

of London and rain of Paris. The drives a 1 
perfectly lovely, through 
and 1 1 • - in full bloom. The drive t«> Villa- 

franca along t' f, we thought 

; of. In; then we ha. much finer ami 

J that it is not worth telling y«>u at this 

late time of our imp! tln-u. There were m 

ajneri } more English . ami it mn 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 177 

good place for invalids. No one could be long ill in 
such a delicious climate. From Nice to Genoa was by 
vetturino, taking four days and three nights, starting in 
the morning at about eight or nine, halting for lunch, 
and getting into good quarters at sundown, finding each 
day fires on the hearths, the table spread, and a good 
dinner awaiting us. You have no idea of the comfort of 
haying a good courier. You have all the pleasure of 
travelling without any of its annoyances. You get up 
in the morning, and, after a good breakfast, go down and 
get into your comfortable carnage with four smart horses, 
find a lunch waiting at your halting-place, and at sunset 
are shown into your parlor where the table is ready and* 
in your room your portmanteau unlocked and open, 
everything at your hand. It is the poetry of travel. 
We are fortunate in having a very good man. We gi 
him the purse, and he does all the rest. Of course 
suppose he makes his little perquisites, but I believe it is 
really cheaper in the end, for you cannot be imposed 
upon as a stranger, and even if it were more expensive, 
it makes up for it double in the amount of solid com- 
fort. 

I can't tell you much now about the journey from 
Nice to Genoa. It was too grand. Sometimes two 
thousand feet above the sea, at others on its level, with 
as many feet of perpendicular rock towering above us. 
! hard to say which is the grandest. 

We were at Genoa three or four days in one of the 
old ducal palaces, Palazzo del Sala. The rooms were 
spacious, so much so that yoa had to take a long walk 
to pick op your various things ; and so high that you felt 
as if you were out doors. The walls and ceilings cov- 
12 



178 " " • WILLIAM 

, I w ith I. There was Dothii 

in nich .1 pi 

the walla of the town 
i and in p< i ration, and oul 

these, i ii the Biirroundi i chain i 

immanding everything. It would rmy 

the place, but a larger one to in and 

with its port unblockaded, it could not be taken. It is 
a queer old town. 

The women wear for bonnetfl whi or tarl 

vt ils, pinned over the head and fal _ und the shoul- 
i a pretty face it is very becoming; but 
pin I ' j fa >s are w hal j ou <!'» i 

The Italian troops are the best-l< of the male 

population. The little Zouaves are ver with 

dark blue trousers, and tunic tight around the waist, the 
skirl about four inches below the belt, and the hat with 
a round top and wide flat brim with tl 

eful ma>> cf waving black ■• j'lil- 

lettes (how do you spell that?) of dark green braid 
tin- breast, matching tin- Bhade of the feath 

They an- the tidiest, trimmest lin!<' fighting-men I 
i a, — "bar nothing." The officers, for tl 

part. _ >od-looking men, and the disciplii 

. I have seen no larger bodj than a 
Lment together. 

The journey from Genoa to > . which I 

daj . .i-n more glorious than tin- first; tin- view at 

the pats of Velva, where you are twenty-one bund 
feet above tin- Bea, into which von could almost thr.< 

.ith the maritime Alps behind you, an 
Genoa and Nice, ami I beyond the top- of in- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 179 

tei vening ranges, more than a hundred miles away, white 
with eternal snow, the Apennines, towards Bologna, — 
it was perfectly grand, and we hated to begin the descent 
which gradually sunk those white peaks, with the rich 
colors of the sunlight on them, behind these nearer and 
smaller hills. As we reached the heights above Spez- 
zia. we had a glimpse of them again, just as they were 
tinged with purple at sunset. 

From Spezzia we came by rail to Pisa, stopping only 
a few hours for lunch, and a visit to the cathedral, tower, 
etc., and a drive to the Cascine. The tower disappoints 
you as you see it from the cars on entering the walls ; 
but when you go to it, your disappointment is turned to 
surprise and wonder. The cathedral is by far the most 
superb that we have seen, and differs from the many in 
being Byzantine instead of Gothic. One of the altars, 
a gift of the Medicis, is of solid silver, most beautifully 
wrought. Many of the columns of the church are an- 
tique, and brought from Greece and Rome. A few good 
pictures. The Battisterio has the handsomest pulpit in 
the world. 

We reached Florence on Friday evening, and shall 
leave for Rome Friday morning, via Leghorn and Civita 
Vecchia. We have the best rooms in Rome, on the 
Corso, the very windows of which command £100 apiece 
BOmetimes during the carnival. 

Florence is so rich in objects of interest and beauty, 
that a person ought to be here six weeks to see what he 
has to (and does n't) in as many days. The sculpture 
Vere is my g pleasure. .Michael Angelo's was 

the master-hand, and you recognize it at once. The 
Pitti and Uffizi palaces contain the finest collections of 



WILL/A V FRANCIS BARTL1 

i Id. I am not tint* 

of Murillo'a and I 
del S and Titian 1 I 

can write yon about all these things, so you must 
till we have :i pow-wow. 

I • >undon my arrival hi kind invitatiou from 

ibaldi to visit Itim at Caprera. I look forward to 

that with more pleasure than anythh V hah 

till our return from Naples, in about tl 
from now. He is very popular here in Italy, much n 
so than Victor Emmanuel, who, I am Burprif 

ot much liked. Aa one of I 
other day in his excitement, '"Why. if Garibaldi Bhould 
land at Leghorn or Naples and anm imself k 

of Italy, the very paving-$lonei would rise up an 
in hut favor.* 1 But he is too good and wise to ^> . 
thing of the Bort. I think he has all the more honor fox 

ing to bia island home. The island U S 

about twelve hours' Bail from Leghorn, and by the time 
you get this I shall be there or on my way. 
The American minister called agaio 
Borry to hear that I waa to leave on Fridaj 
wisl me a dinner on that day. and had . 

sent out some invitations. I am Borry, because he 

i very civil. Bigelow Lawrence, 
also sent passes to various places of inter* 

I shall not have time to write the family thi 
and shall wait till we get to Rome. We found nice I 

era from them here. Anna's was a perfect tr< 
1 wish she would do the same every 
mother Will you please let them ki 

much as you choose of what I have writti 
our next will be from R 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 181 

With much love to you and yours, and to all who love 
ns, from Agnes and myself, I am 

Yours, Frank. 

They wont by sea from Leghorn to Civita Vec- 
cliia, and thence to Rome, where they had an 
apartment on the Corso, and saw the Carnival in 
all its brilliancy. On the 8th of February he 
writes : — 

I find that the izirl I have been exchanging confetti 
and bouquets with these last two days is the Queen of 
Naples. Caught a hunch of violets this afternoon. She 
is very pretty. 

Again, on February 12th : — 

Exchanged bouquets with the Queen again. She gave 
me a little beauty, of her own colors. 

On the 17th of February he notes that his foot 
(his lost foot) is very painful. On the 22d, he 
was present at the breakfast of Americans in 
Rome, upon the occasion of the anniversary of 
the birthday of Washington, and made a speech, 
of which he says simply : — 

People congratulated me on my speech, which I think 
was pretty poor. 

From Rome they went to Naples, and visited 
Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri. 

Many years before, when General Bartlett was 
a boy, Garibaldi had come to Boston as master of 



WILLIAM I l: 

an [tali I r. Bai 

il'a fal i 1 bad tliei ilk- 

\ a : be I tld ( i;u i!>: 

I with liv 
interesl by the 3 oung Amei be 

wenl to Italy, still a 3 oui a cripp] 

era! officer of la ience, he made hia 

presence known to ( raribaldi, and bini 

invited 1 1 \ isit bira .-it bis home in the I 
Caprera. As the voyage ly to be a rou 

one, he left hia wife with her family in Ital 

■ the island alone. The ac< bis 

visi 1 he wrote in his journal and in a lei 

to hia m >ther, are both so inter* I oth 

are given, though each is, to a considerable degi 
a repetition of the other. 

Journal. — March 11. l- ,;,; . The G neral was 
in the field Borne where: had nol expected 1 
but cam . and I went out to meet him. He came 

forward with outstretched hands, his face 1>< with 

the same bright, kindly smile that I had carried in 

mory for thirteen y< 
a poncho of woollen stuff over the red shirt, with the 
handkerclu* f tied loosely around his neck and ! 
down ! is back. I bad grown from the boy to the man 
in I irteen ; ind he would hardly 1 

membcred my face elsewhere. H I to 

. and asked for all the family at home, and w! 

I not brought my wife. 1 !<• had 1 
had everything ready for her. He remembered the cane 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 183 

that ho had given me so many years before, and seemed 
very much pleased to think I had kept it. He scut for 
it at dinner to show to the tabic, and told the story of it 
to the guests. After I was dressed and rest ■ 1 a little, he 
came for me to take a walk, and we went down toward 
the shore, where in a little bay the yacht lay. He asked 
about America; is much interested in the Mexican 
question ; says Napoleon cannot stay there. Showed 
me the different shrubs, — all on the island are aromatic. 
The lavender is very strong and fragrant. The wild 
myrtle, and olive, and other names. He took me to see 
his vines and orangery, and cut some of the ripe fruit to 
give me. Can this simple man, whose whole interest 
seems to be centered in his vine and tig-tree, be the man 
who has given kingdom and power to a king, and 
who will yet give freedom and unity to a nation ? . . . . 
Dinner at one. The dishes are regular Italian ones. A 
soup, thick with rice or maccaroni ; a stew, with olives 
cooked in it, figs, oranges, cheese, and wine from the 
island. At the lower end of the table are some of the 
General's retainers, a rough set in the exterior, but 
true of heart. — men who would go to the death for the 
General. Then further up are the two Italians and the 
Piedmontese, then Menotti and Mrs. Chambers. On 
our side, Colonel Chambers, then Theresa, then myself, 
while at the head sits the old hero, presiding over the 
|neer assembly with the grace and dignity of a king. I 
never knew what a noble head and lace the man has 
before. I can hardly keep my eyes off him. His head 

looks as if it were made to wear a crown When 

and where shall I see the General again next? Power- 
ful at Rome, capital of a united Italy, I trust. 



I - 1 MEMO T AM FR ' IT 

^ '. U, h< re I mh *• at home " id ( I 

^ ! op «>ii Sunday EDO! DJD .. 

lit long, ■ in 

-nil" little harbor of Madd di« 

ly, and found the whole population of th 
the Bhore to receive us. The arrival of I 
t of the week, of course. 

II < . ].. re as elsevi h< re, and my poor little 
to go :m<l be opened. If it had i 

of the town it was only a matter of I • bet it 

nearer. From the custom housi ! i irds 

the hotel (?), followed by a Bmall boy nnder the va 
I had n't far when I was me1 bj 

inL r fellow, who asked me in bi English ifthi 

G tl Bartlett I knew it must be Afenotti, the (. 
eral's eldest Bon, for I had heard he v. 
I [e sai I hia Either was ei ( . I le 

doesn't talk any English, but ^ on in French. 

t to thi grand r< 

twelve by srwii, and Beemed to be tl 
dining, and Bleeping-room. I took my co 
crust of lucid, and then went to the boat, where th 
e three men to pull me over to the island. Mem 
ed to bring the mail. It is about three mil< - from 
Maddalena to Caprera, and the channel wi 
the islands and rocks very prettily. It was a walk 
about a quarter of .-. mile from the lit! 
land<d, up to the house. The island 1< oka i 
one of thi I Shoals, all reck-, but here and tl 

on the way up to the hou 1 
that had been as it \ um out i The 



MEMOIR OF WILL I AM FRANCIS BART LETT. 185 

house is white, and one part of two stories, the last ad- 
dition. The General was not in when I got there, but I 
was shown into the dining-room, and in a few minutes 
he came from one of his fields. I went out to meet him, 
and he stretched out his hands, and the welcome that 
he gave me was warm and kind. He seemed very glad 
to see me, asked for all the family, and laughed heartily 
when I recalled Fanny's speech to him. I talked with 
him awhile, and then he took me to my room. He was 
very sorry Agnes did not come ; he had a room next to 
mine ready for her. I found I had Menotti's room. It 
is on the ground floor, in the newest part of the house. 
Across the entry are Colonel and Mrs. Chambers, some 
English friends of the General. Above are Theresa 
(Madame Canzio), his daughter, and her children, etc. 
The General's room is in the other part, just across this 
little garden. After I was dressed and rested a little, 
he came for me to go to walk with him, and we went 
down towards the cove where the yacht lies. He talked 
about America and the war. He believed, and told the 
Italians from the beginning, that there was only one 
question in the world and that was the American ques- 
tion. It was as important to them as it was to the 
Americans themselves. That if the North did not suc- 
ceed, liberty would be put back for all the world a hun- 
dred years. That America must not allow Napoleon to 
extend his despotism by putting Maximilian in Mexico. 
That the Italians were waiting for him to be over- 
thrown there, etc., etc. We met Colonel and Mrs. 
Chambers. They seem to be very decent people, and 
ire devoted t<> the General. He has written a history of 
u Garibaldi and Italian Unity," of which he has given 



1 36 Ml VOIR ' ■ WILLIAM 

me 

ibaldi went there, and contain I 

Heve ai e knovi d in An 

He 1 k us 1 i< k through hi 

.1 baa to 1 e walled ai and wit] 

of brush to guard it from tin- terrible winds that 

]» the island ; but they were in g< 
of fruit and blossoms. I !«■ tools 
which hang le by :i little chain, and cul some 

be fruil for mo. It was hard to 1" 
noble-looking man. whose chi • med t<» be his 

vines and trees, was the one who, 
two Sicilies," had given kingdoms to a Icing, He 
Bhowed me the various shrubs on the island. They 
all aromatic. At about • lock the boat arri 

from Maddalena, with Menotti and thr< who 

had come in tin imer with me, .-ill Italian- ; two 

are engineers who are to see about Binking an artesian 
well here; the other, a Piedmontese, we think is 
It is not unusual, — Bomebody oi 
boat. Dinner is ready, and when I went in I found 
room full, the General at the head, standing till I should 

I General put menu his left, Mrs. Chaml 
on his right, and then told the others to 
There arc in all at the table about fifteen, and it i 

ilar Italian meal, — Boup, then 

A with olives cooked in it, bread from his own flour 
and Id- «>wn mill, wine from his own vineyard, oran 
and wn t re 6 from bis o\\ II d. 

T is the dinner, a most ample BUpplj 

The General would talk first to me and then to 1 I 
ians, and then interpret what he had b to 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 187 

them. He was in good spirits, looks older, of course, 
than we remember him, but walks with a cane very 
well. It is a queer assembly around the hoard ; the 
lower end do not go in much for dress, and art' a rough- 
looking set, hut they are all devoted to the General, who 
sits there in his usual costume, a poncho of dark woollen 
stuff over the red shirt, a small fez or smoking-cap on 
his head when in the house, and presiding over all with 
the grace and dignity of a king. I never knew before 
what a superb face he has, and what a glorious voice; 
when he would get warmed on any subject, it would 
ring as clear and sweet as a bell. 

At about six o'clock there is supper, and, as far as I 
can see, it is the same thing repeated that we have at 
one o'clock, except, instead of coffee afterwards, we have 
tea. We all sit around the table for an hour after, and 
then the General rises, bids good night to all, and goes 
to his own room, and the day is over. I pass an hour 
in the room of Colonel Chambers, and then to bed. I 
breakfast at nine with Colonel and Mrs. C. on coffee 
and dry bread. There is no butter on the island. The 
island reminds me constantly of the Isles of Shoals, — 
just that appearance of rock, — but in the ravines, where 
the sun gets a chance, there is almost a tropical vegeta- 
tion. From the rocks above the house there is a beauti- 
ful view of this group of islands, and to the south Sar- 
dinia and north Corsica with its snow-capped hills, which 
seem within rifle-shot but are ninety miles away. 

While he was in the midst of such interesting 
scenes and people abroad, he did not lose his in- 
terest in affairs at home, for at the same time we 
§nd him writing to his. mother: — 



WILLIAM I L. 

I ' nl to-day in ili«- I r of the 

P 1 BilL I think 

\<i. 'I !;•■: • 

which u mined I 

slimt't havt " |« any pri« I 

March 15. Fl We hear thai P John- 

has made a speech in which he b 
radical disunion ists. We are anxious 1 it I think 

hi> veto on the Freedmen's Bill 1 [e 

belt 1 lo, that if a white man is not qui _ood 

ought to I 
least an equal chance with him. 

er his visit to ( 'aprera, < reneral Bartlett and 
his wife moved northward throng incipal 

I . and ci Mont I i Swit- 

zerland, and thence journ d to Pai i . 

S as not well, and at Nancy i 

typhoidal Bymptoms, but in Paris 1 
again, though he records there on the - i April, 
M 1 have had a Little touch of that nasty Naj 

er, but am all right again now. I belii 
cept the pain in the head." 

l'i! \pril i, IS 

re in this qi i Dutch town, 

wo have been in, A.gnes and I. Wi 

family at Culoz, alter comin_ 

We found ( here 

i very quiet, clean, delightful wth 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 189 

enticing shops, and beautiful views of snow-clad moun- 
tains. 

We found the most comfortable hotel there that we 
have had anywhere. Our apartments and table were 
more like what you would make them at home, and our 
windows opened on that lovely lake, with those snow- 
white mountains beyond, and Mont Blanc overlooking 
all, when it was clear. 

We left Geneva with regret yesterday afternoon, and 
after skirting the lake to Lausanne, we crossed through 
a country that looks very like our own, in hills and pine 
trees, to Fribourg. 

We wanted to hear the great organ, see the bridges, 
and get away to-day at noon for Basle, but it being a 
grand fete day — Easter — they are not allowed to ex- 
hibit the first, and it being very rainy we could not see 
to any advantage the second ; so here we have to stay 
till to-morrow at noon. We went to the cathedral for 
Mass, this morning, however, and heard the best singing 
and music that we have found in any church in Europe. 
The organ was played at intervals during the service, 
but of course nothing to show its powers. 

The bridges are very wonderful in lightness and 
height. They look like cobwebs stretched across the 
chasm two hundred feet below. They are very much 
lighter in material than the English bridges, or ours at 
Niagara. (A party of students, just about as drunk as 
they make them at home sometimes, are just going un- 
der our windows, singing as best they can " Ubi sunt o 
pocula," etc. 

We shall have the organ played for our especial bene- 
fit to-morrow morning, take another look at the bridges. 



W1LLIA 1/ 

if [| oio, and 1- At 

1 1 [e we touch the Rhine. I 

S to Paris through ! 

ipping, perhaps, at ( 
the !■ i ■ och camp. 

Mv dear Colonel Palfrey, — I v, to tell 

j i thai you were \ v right in saying i did 

about Frai neb and Italian. I [e 

more and more every day by ko 1 v. just 

wli it ary not only i 

.*' but a ility, w here the pi 

iiit- , which are worth Beeing, and which 

••cut.*' He is a sort of general gi »k to the whole 

family, and uothing delight o much 

father depends upon Prank 1 

always felt it would be bo ii they were thn 

much together, and you can imagine how happy and 
proud I am that it is all coming Prank is 

ing quite Btout : Btill 1 do not feel alar.. 
Lest he Bhould g irpulent I know you will all 

think he looks well and brown, — more I Belf 

as you remember him in the old da; a you I 

i inseparable. If Frank gets bis exten 

I hope to be in London for next mont , I 

oach on Frank's ground any longer. 
Kind love to all your father's family, and me, 

lincerel) yours, A.ONE8 B 

I find my first Bheet is filled, hut I know j 
mind tin- change in the writing. I let Agi • - wi 

little, and when Bh< 8 vacant hall with a | 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 191 

at hand, she makes very quick work of it while one's 
back is turned. She is very much better since we left 
Naples. The enervating air there did not agree with 
her at all. and I was very glad to have her further north. 
The air of Venice was a complete change, and she has 
been a different creature ever since. I have directed my 
home letters lately to be turned over to you, and so you 
know of our movements up to leaving Venice, which 
we did regretfully on the 22d. I think I should like a 
month or two there every summer. The first night, 
halted inside the mighty walls of Verona. That night, 
in looking over the book in which I wrote our names, 
and which was begun in 1818, I found among our illus- 
trious predecessors the names of Bonaparte, R. C. 
Winthrop, etc. I wish you could have been at Verona 
with me ; the place is one of the strongest in Europe, 
and cannot be taken except by a very long siege. Here 
is the first square bastion that was ever built, and 
where our present system of fortification may be said to 
have been begun. The old gates are miracles of strength 
and architecture combined. The walls command the 
plain in every direction except the southeast, I think, 
where the hill rises which is crowned by one of the 
strongest works, the Castel San Pietro. 

But your brother, who has not been there, can prob- 
ably tell you more about it than I, who have. 

The old Roman amphitheatre, built at the same time 
with the Coliseum, is not so large, but wonderfully pre- 
1. and is a beautiful sample of the Roman works. 
I went to the top of it, and was repaid by a beautiful 
view of the town and works and the Tyrolese Alps in the 
distance. Went through the picture gallery, in which 



192 UEMi WILLIAM 

there were only t ••■ at paint 

that I ecting to find there, doi man nai 

B tta, a Ven< tian. They irere the 1 .' I i 

i". and rewarded me for wading through the oth< n. It 

purse bad been Btrong 
long 

I ae to .Milan thai night, crossing the frontier at the 
I go di ( tarda, and exchanging the stupid, suUen, white- 
1 for the lithe, cobby little 1 ; pL 

Milan is more like one of our ci an, bus 

I aed more alive than Italian cities usnallj 
cathedra] there is beyond comparison the most raperb 
and imposing thing in Europe. St Pel 

gin to compare with it, in my estimation. 

so impressive, bo Bublime, as those lofty 

I I thic arches. Yon feel like tailing on your knees and 
saying your prayers. It was thi church, Frank, 
where I have forgotten the col itten th< le of 
Btanding on the marble floors, and been Borry to pul 
my bat outside the cloth doors that are hui 

the top in all these churches, and. weighing hundn Is of 
pounds, have a very wicked way of knocking a u ] 
down. The Arch of Peace, begun by Napol< 
on by ili«' Austrians, finished by Victor Emmanuel and 
bis imperial ally, is a beautiful structure, with 
good bronze horses on the top. I the 

town where the old castle Btands, is one of the 
rade grounds I have seen. Y..u could fifty thou- 

sand men there with ease (it* you had them), and I sup- 
■ that is a place where fifty thousand men would ha 
i worth a good deal, many times. A drive on the 

CORK), Sunday afternoon, BhoWS you many fl 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 193 

turnouts, — the yellow with powdered coachmen and foot 
men prevailing. 

From Milan to Turin gives you some beautiful views 
of the Alps, and Monte Rosa, — as ft is well named, — 
as the sun was setting, was worth coming to Italy to see. 
There will not be five days in the year when it is so 
clear as it was that day. 

Paris, Meurice's, April 5, 1866. 

Here we are, dear Frank, back again in delightful 
quarters in the Rue Rivoli, overlooking the gardens of 
the Tuileries. 

We left the snowy Alps on our right as we went north- 
ward through a pretty country, which looks more like 
our own than anything we have seen, — thrifty little 
farmhouses in the midst of apple orchards, with now and 
then a belt of pine woods. Everything looked neat and 
tidy, — so different from lazy, oily Italy. The cars, too, 
on the Swiss roads, are the best in Europe. We passed 
through Olten and Basle, to Strasbourg, a good day's 
journey. The next morning we sallied forth to do Stras- 
bourg. The cathedral is a magnificent building inside, 
very massive but very graceful Gothic, the windows very 
beautiful. Outside, it is to my mind not graceful or well- 
proportioned. The second spire, which was to have been 
as high as the first, was never put up, and of course that 
gives it an unfinished look. But it is very high, twice 
the height of "Bunker Hill," and "open work," with 
carved figures in stone, to the very top, which is sur- 
mounted with a figure which looks life-size, but must of 
course be immense and shapeless when near it. At 
twelve we saw the wonderful clock strike, which looks 
like a small cathedral in itself. I suppose there is the 
]3 



l'.U .1/ WILLIAM TT. 

e crowd before it every day at il. 

mil -by, — the w len-sho<l j who 1. 

..<• in from . ■ 1 1 ry and heard of thii 

I the l" I hut do 

- win) have timed their \ 
.it* • announced by the puppets, th< 

hour-glass, the cock crow, etc. I think tip - tlie 

cleveresl part of it. 

We drove t<> the Rhine and trull 
many over the bridge of boa E£ehL I 

queer to notice the different nniform and style 
at each end of the brid 

o 

This must go by to-night's mail, and I D 
at O! 

Love to all your-. In haste, k. 

Loxdo*, M 

I receive! your nice letter of the l : alt this 

week, and it differed not from all yours in 1" ' Ju- 

ral. We were very glad t<> gel back to old Lon 

.'n. although the past four mouths 1 
dream of pleasure. 1 cannot help feeling regret that 
illness in Paris prevented me from - the 

life there, ami knowing more of tin- Frem . hut 

who knows? we may be there together, 

i la} 

You were nearly right about a man's i 
mustered out, but Btill I gave myself ver} Little trouble 
about it. I could expect uothi the timeofmy 

original leave had expired, ami I didn't ho] y in 

Iger than that when I took it. Th< I 

many general officers who have Buff much i 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 195 

%nd done infinitely more service, mustered out, and I 
don't see why I should be retained any more than they. 
I speak to you as I would to myself, you know. 

Mr. Stanton has been very kind to me throughout, 
and I suppose that it was by his means that my muster- 
out has been again suspended. Until my leave is up, T 
suppose, I can't think any longer — what I shall do then 
remains to be seen. It will depend upon what I can 
have in the regular army. I have made no application, 
taken no steps to obtain an appointment, but I suppose, 
like Mr. M., I shall " wait for something to turn up." I 
think my uncle would prefer to have me stay in the 
army to going into any other profession or business, for 
the present ; and if I can earn my bread and butter, with 
pleasant surroundings, why, it is all that I can ask. But 
in the army or out, I hope I shall always be a soldier at 
heart. No " General Order " can ever take that satis- 
faction away from me, and until the " Special Order " 
comes from the Higher Authority, mustering me out 
altogether — or, excuse me, transferring me from this 
corps (e), — I will try not to disgrace the name. 

There is a terrible panic here just now ; one of the 
>t banking companies in the kingdom failed yester- 
day ; liabilities only twenty-two million pounds sterling. 
Several other banks will have to suspend to-day, and 
everybody looks very blue. American securities, five- 
twenties, could not be bought yesterday. No one will 
fart with them. Rather a let-down for people who were 
sneering at our bankruptcy two years ago, and disposed 
to facilitate it. Serves them i ight ; and the men over 
here who have been true to the North, and backed her 
by putting their money in her stocks, are now reaping 
their reward. 



WILLU M FRA i r. 

The prospect for a 1 

\ 'i can alone stop it. and I <h» n<?t think he 

i^ disp< I am very glad I bai e been thro 

that country. We couldn't go tl v. thro 

\ etia. Ii there is fighting, I thai] ui 
much better. The [talians are i 
demonstrations for Graribaldi as their Leader, tally 

in the south of Italy, are wildly enthusi 1 know 

that he did not want to move this year on accoun 
cholera, but we BhaU Bee what we shall Bee. I Bhould like 
to stay over here, and go down there a- a looker-on. I 
must close. We, I Bay we t have ordered a hat for your 
wife which 1 hope Bhe will Like, at Brown's. I don't 
think there is much Btyle in hats here, and in P 
\ • : \ \< w . Tin- bonnets of the period tl ■ 
•. pretty, when yon can discover them b the 

hair. 

Good-by, love to all your-; by the time yon get this 
we shall, I). V.. be about Bailing, with a full mo >n 

I hope, good weather. 

Yours, Frank. 

General I >.t rtlett returned with his wife to 
America in June, 1866, and hum that tin 
more than ;t year he made his home at Pittsfield, 
in The Homestead. He was mustered out of the 
military Bervice of the United 3 in July. < >r 

the L6th of September his first child, s daught 
was born. He serins to have had at first some 
thoughts of seeking employment in the diplomatic 
service of th< mment, but nothing came of 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 197 

it. His uncle, Edwin Bartlett, between whom 
and himself there existed strong ties of affection, 
and for whose judgment he had great respect, 
preferred that he should turn his attention to 
business, preferably manufactures, and he warmly 
commanded his refusal of the post of Collector of 
the Port of Boston. To this matter, and to other 
offers of political advancement, the following let- 
ters relate, and they also show the general course 
of his life after his return from Europe. It only 
needs to be added, that from this time he was 
frequently asked to be a delegate to, or an officer 
of political conventions and the like, and that 
these offers and applications show how remarka- 
bly the young man of twenty-six had attracted 
the attention of a community from which he had 
gone forth as a college undergraduate, and with 
which he had hardly mingled for five years ex- 
cept as a wounded officer on sick leave of absence. 

Pittsfikld, August 23, 1866. 
I was sadly shocked to see the death of poor I lav- 
ward 1 in the paper. It does seem hard, these inscruta- 
ble ways of Providence, in carrying men through dan- 
gers of no ordinary sort, and then letting them suddenly 
drop. You and I carry with us, always, mementoes of' 
Hayward's handiwork, that we shall cherish a whit more 

1 Formerly surgeon of the Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry. 
This gallant and accomplished man fell a victim, a short time he- 
fore the day appointed for his marriage, to his devotion to charity 
patients during the prevalence of cholera in St. Louis. 



117/././ 

kindly now thai the comrade who 11 haa 

I 1 to see Humpl ppointm< '. I: 

mak( a up * the diag 

1 ' int. which is a) I !•• 

bjast tlit- man for it, and was most popu] l»<fore 

the war. The Philadelphia Convention 

e off to th( iction of all concerned in it I 

don't think the theatricals indulged in will count 
much. A- Bcenic effect it n \ 1 my 

uame i> put among Borne oth< 
mention on September •">. It Btruck me a- rather qn 
but -till — Of coarse I cannot think 
In. nor." Tl i re seem to be many good nam - on the 
bst, and a \'v\\ only of scaly one*. 

My love t<» your wife. I Buppose I ought to be 

I that you are BO DU8y 9 and lam; hut d ork 

too hard. 

el much m tied and cont< i I had 

that talk with Judge Abbott, and decided not to take 
any government appointment. 1 fectly ini 

pendent. My uncle approves my learning the detail 
manufacturing, and I >hall be on the lookoul 
ion in that line. 
With much lo^ its, 

\| 1 1 • T ■ \ I I \I.. 

I wanted very much to see you this morning, before 
d< ddii _ bout the offer. You mi: 
rat! The thing was to be '\<<..^ imm< 

stely, if I consented. Judge Abbott hold t<» bis advice of 

the other day as to any Mihordinate position, hut this f 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLFA T. 199 

a different thing, — the second commercial office in the 
country, with a salary from twelve to fifteen thousand 
dollars and often upwards, — but it would involve being 
here constantly for the next six weeks or two months, 
a pretty thorough renovation of the Custom House, 
standing any amount of abuse and blackguarding, which, 
though it broke no bones, would be disagreeable, etc. 

I believe my duty is clear, to stay with my wife, and 
execute the trust and bear the responsibilities thrown 
upon me by the detention of Mr. and Mrs. Pomeroy. 
I have charge of everything up there, and it would be 
impossible for me to leave within the next few days and 
come here, as I should have to. I told Judge Abbott 
that I did not see my way clear to take it. That the 
honor of being selected for it would, perhaps, be mort. 
pleasant than the actual possession of the office. I be- 
lieve he approves of my resisting the temptation, and he 
implied that he would have been glad to have had 
Henry or Ned do the same under similar circumstances. 
I hope you will agree with me that it was my duty to 
refuse it. I don't believe I shall ever regret it. I wish 
I could have a talk with you. Write me a few lines, if 
you have time. Love to your wife. 

In haste, yours. 

Frank. 

This is confidential. I would n't say anything about it. 

The Homkstead, Pittsfield, September 7, 1866. 

I was very glad to get your letter, and know that yon 

approved of my decision in the Collector business. You 

/ust confirmed my views in the matter. I don't think I 

have for a moment regretted it, and I believe I am much 



I Ml M WILLIAM 

hi]. day than I should 1 I 

iv 1>\ the U mpting off I that 

the papen bai <• me as one of the | Darned 

tioD with the ofl ether with John Adam . I 

\ I don't know how I 

heard it. unless it had 1" 
I heard it. for I have not Bald anythii it it. 

Aiter what baa passed, I do not care to 1"- th< 

ippointed office-seeker, as I shall be when the ap- 
pointment i> made; and yon are ;it Libert that 
I am not a candidate for the office. That J have 1 
offered the position :m<l refused it. I d 
I do not think it would be fan to - 1 u « 1 l: « • Abbott ;m<l the 
er party leaden who were so kind as to give 

il of it. 

I .v my name presidents of a □ 

ing in Tremont Temple ;'. few nightssim I .• ■ 
of course, without consrJting ma I fancy that at 
the President _ i and I tliink alike, and that we 

are equallj e the chief magistrate so low 

ing the dignity o'his high office. I had only a moment 
in which to thank you for your good letter. con- 

tinues persistently well, and I tell her it is :ill hum 
about her being ill at all. Mr. and Bin. Pomeroy will 
not be here till the 8d of October. Before that tin* I 
hope she will be convalescent 

1 e that our friend Butler is trying I 

If he does, will it vacate his commissi 
era! of the Militia? Ffso,we must tliink about that. 

Lo\ • or w it'f, who is, I hoj mine] 

*ho sends love I oth, with mine to j 

Prams. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 201 

September 11, 1866. 

Yours of 9th received. I am very sorry that I can- 
not be with you to-morrow. For though I have no 
share in the honor of the Twentieth in all those battles, 
still there is nothing on earth that I am prouder of than 
her glorious record. 

My love to every one who remembers me, and to 
those who do not, my kind regards. 

Agnes continues well. Glad you have found a house 
and in such a good locality. 

In haste, yours ever, Frank. 

The foregoing letter refers to the presentation 
at the State-house of Massachusetts of a regi- 
mental color of the Twentieth Massachusetts In- 
fantry, bearing the names of the battles which it 
was authorized by General Orders to have in- 
scribed upon it. To the Twentieth was assigned 
the privilege of inscribing upon its colors more 
names of battles than any other infantry regi- 
ment in the army of the Potomac. 

Pittsfield, September 17. 1866. 
The telegram that I sent this morning will tell 
you how relieved and happy we all are that Agnes has 
got through so nicely, and has such a strong, healthy, 
and pretty baby. I was never very intimate with ladies 
at this age, and am not a judge of female beauty on such 
a small scale, but those who seem to be more compe- 
tent, say that it is a remarkable good " specimen of the 
style in the early ages." But I am so glad and relieved 



117/ HAM 

that I hould aol h 

If it bad been a monki 

I Ii ought to have b< . the 

w bich I am the only ! 

initial of tl I I 

1 right I K i :> . \\ \ ou will 1 to 

r -mil good news lV<>m hei 
and keep for yourself all thai you want. You k- 
]ia\ blanche there. I- n't it four j 

since you stopped thai hoi ? I saw by th< 

that I was a d to tli<- ( leveland < . but 

on receipt of the notice "declined the honor." Mj ui 
entirely approved of my decision in rs Coll*, of which I 
am glad. Yours ever, 

(Com iki.m iai..) [Published with the p> i 

'SC6. 

Mi deab Babtlett, — Subsequent have 

le me the more satisfied that I <li«l i 
under the circumstanci ke the plaa I 

T can explain this to you when I -■ e you, but I am 
isfied that I was right in not ui ou. 

I desire to know dow, ifyou will permit your i ameto 
be used as candidal I ! rnor of 1 1 1 « - Constitutional 
I '.ii Party, — not tin- Di tick, — in the comi 

•ion? Of course there is no dan| I 

think, however, there will be a vote of i j thou- 

i. a very respectable number I with. I 1 

no doubt ground will be taken in 
bom '1 my belief is, you would get a larg< | 

tion of their voU i. You can trust me that your name 
will nut be used unless the nomination would be sub- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLLTT. 203 

Btantially unanimous. If you yet think of a foreign mis- 
sion, I think this would be advantageous. I think, too, 
although very probably we may be defeated at the 
coming election in the country, that we are right, and 
shall be sure to prevail two years hence, when, from 
present appearances, General Butler will be the candi- 
date of the Radicals and General Grant of the other side. 
Be kind enough to let me know by return of mail how 
l may act in the matter. I don't want to urge you, but 
certainly I think the nomination would be very compli- 
mentary. 

Very sincerely your friend, J. G. Abbott. 

Pittsfield, September 27, 18G6. 

My dear Judge, — It would be very strange if I did 
not feel deeply the honor which your confidence and the 
contents of your favor of the 25th do me. 

I have not regretted the decision that I made in the 
case of the collectorship, and I shall never forget your 
delicacy and consideration at that time in not urging me 
to do what I did not think was clearly my duty. I be- 
lieve you acted by me as you would have done by Henry, 
and I could ask nothing more. I believe that I decided 
as he would have decided under the circumstances, and 
you could ask nothing more. The present offer seems to 
me to have more objections and fewer inducements. On 
principle, I never like to attempt anything in which 
I do not intend to succeed, and here there is no chance 
of success at the start. 

The acceptance of the nomination would lose me more 
friends than my election, even if that were possible, 
would gain me ; you see I speak to you frankly and 



20 1 Ml '.' B 01 wil.l.l.\)f l /:.: \ LETT, 

Isbly. You know how fearfully led politic! 

ii ihii fi 

I iimot teO y«>u li"\\ it paini me to i 
made by one whom I honor and i 
I believe you know thai if it were any 
mally, I would do it at any Bacri£ . 
I have succeeded thus far is keeping ont of poli 
acting mainly <>n your gooil ad vice, and I feel thai 
will Bay thai I do wisely in Bhnnning them .-till.hy d 

the honorable prominence which the Domimv 
tii'n would give me, to end only in 
I am, with siin ■ ml. 

Ever your . W, V. B. 

September 28, 186G, S-itunlay p. M. 

This la really the fire! moment 1 have had for writing 
you siin ■• I ; thai telegram. I did not want to write 
it out. Imt thought yon would understand, as you did. 
Before I received your answer, I had written Jn 

Abbott substantially as follows : — 

[Here follows a copy of the forego! 

I think that answer agrees pretty nearly with the 
views expressed in your letter. You 1; my 

telegraphing in such an abrupt way. bul bow 

directly my mind turns to yon when I need advice. 1 

hope you will take it as I interpret it to myself a pl- 
ot' my love and confidence. 

This morning I had a note from the Judge, saying 

he was glad I had decided as I had. although he thoug 

it was rfghl that] should have been i the nomina- 

tion, which would have hern unaninio 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 205 

So, that is all settled. I wonder what will come next. 
[ hope something in the way of business soon. 

Agnes improves every day — sate up to-day altogether 
five hours. Is being very good and prudent. 

The mail closes. With much love to you and your 
wife from us, Ever sincerely yours, 

Franf. 

I saw your brother's brevet and was delighted. It 
was we 1 1 earned. 

General Bartlett passed the whole of the year 
1867 in Berkshire County, most of it at The 
Homestead in Pittsfield, and the rest in a snug 
little house which he fitted up in the adjoining 
town of Dalton, and which he named The Box. 
The letters presently to be given contain some 
account of the opportunities for honorable em- 
ployment which came almost or quite within his 
reach. Besides the presidency of the New York 
Company, he was recommended for the post of 
United States Marshal for the District of Massa- 
chusetts ; but the appointment was not made. 
Early in this year, he determined to take charge 
of a paper-mill in Dalton, and the purchase of 
that property was the occasion of his removing 
to that town. From June onward he was ac- 
tively occupied with this business. 

Pittsfield, January 7, 1807. 
1 write a line in great haste, to tell you that if the 
roads are not all filled up again, as they are likely to be 



WILLIAM 

by ■ 

. morni] 

r from liiin to-daj \ 

insure] :iu- 

1 >' .. J. .1. ' 
. : I 

Hunt, ex-governor 

It U -bank and i 

■ principle which contains many tl in this 

atry, bnt from reading old thh 

llent <me-. I will tend you the plan when I fa 
another. The point is that the pi 
will probably be tendered to me. It n 10 Dix, 

ami he was to take it if he ha<l Dot g 
Wonld n't it lie a v« vy flat 

? Do you think I am "un" to such a pla ■ : I 
know you will til! me what you think. I should have 
to reside in N .\ V T inldn*t like, bnt I 

would not of course let that stand in tl. 

l of my having an hoi 
ment The salary will ho from eight to ten tl 
dollars. Of course it is all uncertain as 
wmi't Bpeak of it unless you hear more from me. 1 am 
k with my uncle to >- the 

parties, wh d. Glad your 

wife continues to imp] 

Much 1<>'. i both. 

1 . tense haste, Frank. 

You see how naturally I turn to you in any important 
iir. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 207 

Pittsfield, January 22, 1867. 

1 suppose you think I am under the snow, if not 
under the sod. 

I came up from New York with my uncle last 
Wednesday, and Thursday the storm began. My uncle 
could not get away from here till Saturday evening, and 
no news from Boston till Monday. Now the trains are 
beginning to get through, but the air seems full of snow, 
and there is no dependence to be placed on the weather. 

I long to hear how you and your wife are, and the 
little Marian. I found your kind letter in New York, 
where we went on Monday, 14th. After talking over 
the matter of which I wrote you, with my uncle, and 
Mr. Aspinwall, and Mr. Alsop, we found many more 
objections to my taking it than at first appeared. It 
will necessarily be up-hill work for a year or two, with 
pretty close confinement. 

If I undertook it, I should not be able to leave it for 
anything better until it was successfully established 

Mr. Pomeroy did not encourage it from the first. 
He wants me to wait for an opportunity to go into 
manufacturing, where, as he says, you can make more 
in one year than vou could there in five. Besides, 
manufacturing would be more to my taste, better for 
my health, give me more room for progress and promo- 
tion. In the other place I should be confined to the 
city, an office with SI 0,000 a year, but no hope of any- 
thing beyond, and with the expenses of living in New 
York we should not have a cent more at the end of the 
year than at the beginning. Five thousand dollars in 
Massachusetts, or even in Boston, would be worth more 



thai thai in V inwall says, it 

do, at 
wli:it we should have to <!•» in racfa ft was 

id for : 1 

bat I want to act prudently and 
by the adi ice of older heads. The tl 
to my ancle, when it was Pound that I 
Europe, and McClellan would 

he thought it was worth my looki He <li«l nol 

wish to influence me too much, b • ■! that I 1 

ided not to take if. all thing 
v what I wrote to Mr. Bntz, tl. 
whom I talked in New York. 

"Mtdeab Sib, — I hav< d reluctantly! 

diii' ridency of the ne* I and 

mpany. It is not without mature delih 
tion, and. for many reason . the 

principles of my life is, never to ui 
thai I cannot give my whole heart and mind to. ft I 
Bhould accept the office so flatterii 
wish to give my whole Bonl to achieving, with your val- 
uable and necessary a 

tion of th<" company. The business opportunities for 
which I am waiting may offer at any day; but had I 
I, in the mean time, this position of trust and 
[lity, and my friends have taken an interest in 
the company on my account, I Bhould feel bound in 
honor ! by it and them, at n< r what | 

il and pecuniary Bacrifi 
•• 1 ' ■ ision is the harder of the two for d 
make at t! . nnoccupu d as I am, but il 

tatcl by prud< i I the right moth 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 209 

to appear insensible of the great honor which the associ- 
ation of my name with this office does me, and T trust 
that you will readily find a far abler and equally suitable 
man for the place. 

" The company will always naturally have my best 
wishes for its success, and you yourself the regard and 
esteem of your obedient servant, etc." 

So that is settled. I dare say many will think it 
foolish to pass on such a position, but I expect that it 
will prove for the best. The time to clam is at low 
water, and many of the mills will have to " go under " 
before long. Then will be the time to buy out and start 
afresh. 

I hope your wife is very well and the baby flourish- 
ing. Ours is 16^. 

I don't advise your coming up here, Frank, at this 
time, unless you will come prepared to stay a week or 
more. Let me hear from you. The presidency is no 
secret. With much love, yours, Frank. 

Pittsfield, February, 27, 1867. 

Every one is on the sick list, with colds, coughs, etc. 
etc. 

The baby is much better, but Agnes has a miserable 
niluenza, which is very prevalent here just now. The 
others are in different stages of the same cheerful com- 
plaint, so I advise your not coming just now. 

Nothing new from Washington in reference to the 
collectorship. No appointment has yet been made, I be- 
lieve. 

I heard from Washington that the President was in- 
14 



210 MEMO WILLIAM i 

rliip point ni«-. but the tin Mai >acliu- 

1 ocb, their old • n bom 

ept Hi 
ted to th< m, i mharrasa d him, i a to 

liate the party. 
I li , i rating me in Wasl . and 

onder the circumg mould i 

kable it" I Bhould 1>«' named, w 1 . 

are in the field, working night and day. If 
1 ould be nominated, I Bhould try t<» fulfil the dul 
of the place with c ill be in< 

that it is :t fortunate escape from the many am 
ances and entanglements attendant upon th<- p 
I sliouM think Clifford's name the I ill that 

mci in connection with the offi 

I hope you and your wit< ill. 

With much Love, youi Frank. 

Fifth Ayi mi Hon 11, 18G7 

f ;it yon a very hurried and perhaps unintelli< 

gram yesterday afternoon 
were waiting for me, and 1 had to be v< 
tious. I wanted to say that I'u to Washi 

ton, as I had had a telegram Baying I had better c 
on. and if your father was dispose 
otherwise committed, I Bhould life om bin 

the President It' he had any aversion to writing 
President, I would n't have him think of it for a mom 
This is something that is very distasteful t<> me, an I 

1 last week I would not go on 
place; but my friends who are u I urge it. and I 

suppose that it is only right that I Bhould do what I > 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 211 

Please explain to your father the abruptness of my tele- 
gram. I hope he will not write if he has the slightest 
feeling about it. 

I expected to go on last night, but a telegram inter- 
cepted me on the way down, saying that Mr. George 
Ashmun was in New York, and from what the letter 
said, I thought I had better wait here and see him. 

I shall go on to-night and shall try to come back 
Monday. 

It has been a wretched day — raining like mad. 

Much love to your wife. 

Yours, in haste, Frank. 

Annandale on Hudson, September 12, 1867. 
I have had, these last two days, a strong desire to 
write you, even if only a few lines. In any great joy I 
should turn to you to share it, and so in this great grief, 
the first and greatest I have ever known, I turn to you 
for sympathy. I thought we had got accustomed to 
death, — we could lose comrades and brothers in war, and 
be calm and stoical. But this is all new to me. I have 
never lost a near relative before, one whom I knew well. 
It depends not so much upon the relationship as upon 
the relations that you have with another. My uncle was 
nearer to me ... . that is, I went to him more freely 
for advice, .... and now I feel as if I had lost every- 
thing. But what is my loss, beside that of my dear 
aunt ? The relation between these two has always been 
a peculiarly close one. Dependent each on the other, 
they have been for thirty-six years like engaged lovers, 
never separated for a single day. She is utterly crushed 
aud stunned, but is doing more bravely than we could 



2] -J MEMOIR OP WILLI A If . IT. 

1 1 
many v. but only took his bed la-t Wednet 

k. I was with him on Friday and Saturday 
} i . - B6i med to be better, and w Jit he would rally. 

We bad no idee the <-iid was so near. When I lefl him 
on Saturday I Bald," I shall be back on Monday/.' And 
li«' Baid with a voia 11 find 

on Monday." He failed, hot on Sund 

and when I got here Monday he had not d iny- 

thing for hours. My coming seemed to rouse him, and 
he knew me and tried to Bpeak. I did n< 
from that time till three o'clock Tuesday morning, when 
he quietly breathed his Last 

The Burgeona term the disease purpura, a 
ment of the blood-vessels of the bowels, — what apo- 
plexy is to the brain. He has been working too hard 
this summer on tome papers he has been drawing up for 
the trustees of the Ohio and Mississippi Rail:".. : . They 
all looked to him lor the brain-work, and Lb 
the day of the meeting. There \\as tin- p 
them, finished, perfect in its character, and tip the 

telegram announcing hi- death that morning. Mr. Alsop 
s it was the Baddest meeting that ever w> 

Oh, Frank, how I wi-h you had known him ! That I 
one of my dreams, to have you come h< re. Il< would 
have Loved you, Frank, and you would ha I his 

noble mind and lovely character. 

We bury him on Friday, from the little chapel, and 

then I fear for my poor aunt the worst will b< 
I hope yoa and yours are well. 

With much love, ever yoi Fkank. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 213 

Agnes and the baby are in Pittsfield. She will come 
nere after the funeral. The baby will be a great diver- 
sion for my aunt. She has been expecting to be in 
Pittsfield on the 16th, the little thing's birthday, with 
uncle. She has never seen it ; he was there last win- 
ter. 

The death of his. Uncle Edwin, who was child- 
less, though married, seemed at first to place him 
beyond the necessity of work. By his will, his 
Uncle left his estate of Miramonte upon the 
Hudson River to his wife for her life, and on her 
death to his nephew, General William Francis 
Bartlett, " in consideration of his gallantry and 
devotion to his country in her late struggle for 
self-preservation." He then gave one hundred 
thousand dollars to his wife, and the residue to 
two of his friends in trust to have the whole ap- 
praised, to pay over one third to his wife, about 
fifteen thousand dollars in legacies, and the res- 
idue to General Bartlett. It is understood that 
if General Bartlett had accepted the provisions 
of this will, he would have come into immediate 
possession of property then valued at close upon 
two hundred thousand dollars. But he was young 
and hopeful, and the country was prosperous, or 
seemed so, and everything looked bright. He was 
much attached to the wife of the man whom he 
so tenderly loved, and he feared that she would 
Snd the pre vision made for her inadequate to en- 



214 '•'■ " WILLIAM FBI II- 

abl< manner to which ri 

ustomed. Moved by thea Ideratio 

cuted a paper instructing i he I • ain 

the property left to him, ami to paj the im 

aunt. It Vfhich 

tin- much abused term of chivalro 
applied, but in the Bequel it proved most u 
n;i; asequences, however, i 

m;i; e and family concern to admit 

their relation here. 

THE BOX, December 1, IS 

I am glad that yon know me well enough aot to think 
it Btrai ge when you do not hear from me for i 
Yon will believe that yon are none the less in my 
thoughts. [ hope y long we can have a real 

good pow-wow under this little roof. We 
very comfortably Bettled, and w< ppy in 

our lives. Sonic people Bay, M Why, won't you find it 
v.tv quiet out in Dalton [hey are of that cl 

which believes that Pittsfield and the like ai 
excitement.) How little they know of the comforl 
qui«t and Beclnsion when one has se< d b fair Bhan 
• ■ and bustle of the world. Every i 

out here thinks we are very I 1, and arc Bur- 

prised • what can be made of a common little 

country tory and a half. .... 

Yours . li: \\i;. 

The year 1868 was for General Bartlett a 

your «>t hard work, and, upon the whole, of I 
dining health. Ho remained at Dalton for some 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 215 

thing more than half the year, and then took a 
house in Pittsfield. The change of residence was 
owing to his acceptance of the position of treas- 
urer and general manager of the Pomeroy Iron 
Works, at West Stockbridge. As this town and 
Dalton were on opposite sides of Pittsfield, it 
was much better for him to make his home in 
the last-mentioned' place. He associated with 
himself in the paper business Colonel Walter 
Cutting, who married a sister of his wife, and 
Colonel Cutting soon qualified himself to take 
charge of the mill at Dalton. As for the manu- 
facture of iron, he devoted himself to it with his 
usual intelligence and energy, and with such 
success at first, that at the end of May he thought 
himself authorized to assert that the weekly 
report of his furnace showed " the best week's 
work yet made at that or any other furnace in 
this country/' 

His application and his way of life were un- 
favorable to his health. Besides the fatigue 
incident to his work, lie had a long way to go 
and to return each day, and the constant per- 
sonal supervision which he gave to his furnace ex- 
posed him to trying alternations of heat and cold. 
In January, he had a bilious attack and symp- 
toms of fever. These, however, yielded to qui- 
nine and to alterative medicine, but in February 
he continued indisposed. His trouble was then 
thought to be owing to a want of bile. It was 



WILLIAM i 

ended w ith e ri r< i .ml 

with a tendency inflamm 

tioii. I [is physician thought thei 
of the old ulceration Le en- 

:i«l thai he ou 
tigue ; but Btill he Lai 
exp nor fatigue, and by the & 

it was only too plain thai he had worked too hard 
all Bummer and that be needed a rest. He] 
become very thin. Whenever he l< 
stump <>t" bis amputation \\; 
placea in which the 1"- ared. This can 

hia artificial leg to chafe, and was almost alwa 

ended with pain in his losl foot. Of this the 
world knew little. The absolute silence of I 
man as to his own Bufferings was a mark »1 char- 
iiiui, and bis patient . . til endur- 

ance was almost beyond belief. !!<• w 
Philadelphia upon the >n to which i 

the following Letters n . but it was alrei 
becoming painfully apparent that he wi I tit 
for Buch efforts. The sword was we 
sheath, and the war had worn the sheath v< 

thin. 

'i*mi 

I'll i -l li LD, ' 

I j on think I am dead, oi 

i entirely. I had time only to read your Last kind 
letter, bul not to answer it. It was like a draught of 
good,! '1 water, when one u tin < 1 and thu 

Vuu ran hardly in how busily I ha i u- 



MEMOIR 01 WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 217 

pied these last two months. I begin to see land at last, 
but it may yet be two or three weeks before I can really 
sit down and take a long breath. I never knew until 
this year what Sunday is to the working man, as a day 
of rest. Well, I don't need to explain my condition; 
the simple fact that I have not written, even you, for 
nearly two months, tells the whole story. I cannot tell 
you on paper, with any satisfaction, about the iron busi- 
ness. You will be glad to know that it promises to 
be a very pleasant and profitable occupation. I have 
bought Moodie's interest in the paper mill, and taken in, 
as partner in his place, Walter Cutting. He is taking 
hold of the business with an earnestness and cleverness 
which surprise me, and I feel great relief in that quar- 
ter already. 

He will live in Dalton, and take charge of the busi- 
ness, so that I can devote my time almost exclusively to 
the furnace. I hope to get to Boston next week on 
business, and will not come away without a " sit-down " 
with you of an hour or two, when I can put you in pos- 
session of all the facts. Meantime, believe that you and 
yours are not out of my thoughts, even in the busiest 
days, and that I am constantly looking forward a few 
years when we shall be nearer each other. 

Much love to your wife, and kiss the lovely baby. 
Yours, in haste. Frank. 

Pittsfield, September 26, 18G8. 
I am just in receipt of your telegram of this date, 
asking if I will " take command of Massachusetts dele- 
gation to Soldiers' and Sailors' Convention at Philadel- 
phia." 



A 

1 
as ^ , I will go; but I pi 

■ 

ition to 
who would n i do, tl.. 

. and who j 
id the 6 
I i politician. If 1 I 

suppose it would b "War D And I 

. ■ War 1 1 

tainly <!• v v thai 

that we bo fail 
would Beem now 

litionallj 

tli< in, through four 

ion is hard. 11 st li 

.iianiiiiitv towards a fallen 
the hand right heartily in token of f 
dship. 

ilky charad 
of : y. when rebellion laid down i ^uch 

imity and charity will, I believe] mark hi- 
immander-in-c] 

. in the sound: F the 

sol; t8, their 

. I ill in peace follow with th 
or fail; _ hief moi U with pride I 

the in. 1 illy, 

.:• obedi' mt. 

w. r. r.AKii.r.TT. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 21 S 

The downward tendency of his physical con- 
dition became yet more marked in 1869. His 
home and his occupations were the same, but his 
fitness to enjoy the one and to do justice to the 
other was often greatly diminished. He was con- 
fined to his bed in February, and was excessively 
weak. His wife wrote : M It would go to your 
heart to see him. He looks nearly as emaciated 
as when lie came home from the Libby. No 
doubt this illness has been coming on for many 
months."' By the second of March he had re- 
covered so far as to drive out for ten minutes. 
During the summer he was better, but in 
tember he was again ill in bed, suffering from 
congestion of the bowels, unaccompanied at this 
time with ulceration. Indeed, it may be said 
that he never recovered from the dysentery which 
attacked him after his capture at the explosion of 
the mine before Petersburg. Besides his phvsieal 
sufferings, his business at this time began to do 
less well. There was little of pleasant incident 
for him in this year, but he took great inten 
planning a house for himself, which he began to 
build in November, near The Homestead. His 
second child, a daughter, was born on the 17th 
of February in this year. 

As it had been in 1869, so it was in 1870, but 
worse. He toiled unremittingly till he could toil 
no longer, and at last it was decided that he 
should take a short vacation and go to England. 



WILLI! V 

I [e announced his determination to hi dq be 
itanl adenl in the following Letter: — 

I ) i aiiythii \ 

them to . I !; i . >ubt 

the out and back, will u<:1j 

I, although I do do I 

in \ : i ; 1 '. t 

A man' ience at such times, tli 

Log to himself, is, that thii._ \ longju 
without lii in ; and I presume that will be the result with 
me. Much love to you both 

er you l'i: 

His wife wrote, on the 22d of May: — 

It is an absolute neces far as hi con- 

cerned, that he >houl<l have immediate and entire I 
for mind and body. He has do! been well 
three months, and the constant and fatiguing I 
trips of the last few weeks have broken him down 
The d< - he must Btop no . . have a 

return of thai terrible illness. 

He wrote from Queenstown on his arrival there 
"thai the continuance of the miserable pain and 
sore quite decided him to remain over till 

Captain Moodie's July trip." He had ho] 
that the sea \ out and back would be buAB- 

cient, with no 1< in England than 

interval 1 the ship's arrival and departure | 

but the bow had been bent too loi 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 221 

Croxley House, July 4, 1870. 

I was delighted to see your well known writing again, 
and I thank you very much for taking the trouble to 
write me such a nice long letter, telling me so much that 
I wanted specially to hear. I have not written any 
one but Agnes, giving myself over to complete lazi- 
ness. I am doing very little in the way of going out 
to dinners and theatres, etc., having cut it from the 
first. 

We are about twenty miles from London, in this old 
place, which is very odd and thoroughly English. The 
park of about thirteen acres is entirely enclosed in a 
high masonry wall of some ten to fifteen feet outside, 
but by raising the ground inside it seems only a few 
feet high, viewed from the house, and that completely 
covered with ivy, so that there is no sense of being 
shut in. 

I go to London for two or three days in the week, 
spending the night, or coming down in time for dinner, 
at half past seven, as I feel like it. Every afternoon 
that I am down we drive four-in-hand through these 
lovely English lanes and over the superb high roads. 
Many parts of this country (Herts) remind me of the 
Shenandoah valley, — that beautiful rolling green, al- 
though there are no hills as high as the Blue Ridge in 
sight. It is a favorite spot about here for gentlemen's 
places. The adjoining one to this is an estate of about 
eight hundred acres, " Cassiobury Park," the Earl of 
Essex's ; next to that is Lord Clarendon's, " The 
Grove ; " near by, Lord Ebury's " Moor Park ; " and 
next. Lord Chesham's " Latimer " and "Loud Water." 
You can see that so many fine places, so near, with their 



' UBlfOIB OF R a ii I II 

hundreds of a< k and wood, n 

I 
Bering f< arfullj ! will 1 

!' both bay and grain. 
. e thai I :ini much better n< 
home, and I have no doubt whatever tl 
home will do i and tli i 

the 1" • :""1 ''I 1 the bal 

tin- first week or I 

I did not mend a Int. ami was quite 

that I had not : with M But I 

am gaining now, I feel bu 

ae thing, Frank, you may •'. and 

one of these days you will confirm my I that the 

aer you leave hom for this Bide, tin- I 

you will lie that with all her faults A 

of all the world t«» live in. The moi i ther 

countries, the I on will I 

I am glad to hear Buch g wife 

and the bairns. Mine have the whoopii I 

am assured that it is the most favorable tin 
and that otherwise they are in Buperb health, and tor 
this • rateful. 

.My best 1"\«- to your wit''. • Prank, and what 

>r ymi! 
Prom your devoted Fb i \k. 

The good effects of his \ n did i 

long. In October liis wife wrote: — 

lie i- very far from well The anxiety ami 

fatigue of those days and nights at the furnace have told 

U) i>n him Beriously, and he i> now Buffeiil _ I much 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 223 

soreness and lameness in the bowels He is not 

strong enough or robust enough foractive business, and as- 
he throws all his energy into whatever he undertakes, 
he frequently exhausts himself, and then feds that he 
cannot take the time to repair the waste, and so when 
lie gets down, ir, is very hard for him to get up again, 
and he is injuring his constitution every day, and is in 
a fair way to entirely ruin his wonderful recuperative 
powers. 

At this time, neither the paper nor the iron 
business was yielding any return, and mental 
anxiety was added to physical weakness. " He is 
;ly harassed in many ways, and of course all 
this worry of mind increases his trouble of the 
bowels He suffers a great deal, and some- 
times longs for the rest of heaven." These words 
again are from his wife. The days and nights at 
the furnace to which she refers are those spent 
there by her husband in the autumn of this year, 
when the furnace had a " chill," and it required 
excessive exertion and unremitting watchfulness 
to keep it from going out of blast. 

At the end of this year, he moved into his new 
house, which was most satisfactory, and the 
source of great enjoyment to himself and his 
wife. 

It is not to be understood that these years were 
all dark. To do so would be to go very far from 
the truth. He was most happily married, and 
though he suffered more than almost any one 



WILLI ' 

knew, li«' pul a b 

firm and pal rod al-.\ 

•i I'ul. 1 I<- waa in" pi table, in 

Imple : • in bia own home, and he 

time for frequent Little visits to hia family i 

ads, and he alwa 1 and i 

profit from such peri I relaxation. Hi> pow- 

of rallying were wonderful. Sometimes he 
would come i<> ;i friend's hou 
quite exhausted, silent, feeble, and without ap- 
At first he would Bleep much, then lie 
in to take :m in' ii the I 

presently I e would seem Like a new man, cheer- 
ful in ; ioua way, enjoying his I : . and tak- 
ing plenty of it, and ready t>» make tl. 

y pleasure which hi- po ition afforded. 
Jn tin- year 1871, he contended with inc 
ill-health. In March lie was very far from well, 
:iinl lie went to make a Bhorl visit 
in Boston. While with them, he Buffered fi 
his wearing pain, and had Little appetite and Lit- 
tle Btrength, but he Lmpri - usual when In' 
gave himself the chance, and in April 1 
much better in spirits and in health. He 
f«-ll in, and had a Beri »ua illness in I 
early summer, — a touch of pleuriay with a con- 

ive chill. 1 [e went in An 
i'<v two weeks, with hia wife, and tli 

; Bet him up wonderfully, and 
was very well during the autumn. In Decembei 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 225 

he was ill again for some weeks with another at- 
tack of pleurisy. 

During this year he was very busy, whenever 
he was able to work, and he began to take a zeal- 
ous interest in the affairs of the church. In April, 
he became senior warden of St. Stephen's Ejjis- 
copal Church in Pittsfield, and in September he 
was there confirmed by the bishop of the diocese. 

On the 26th of November, in this year, his 
first son was born. This event was a very great 
joy to him. He was the only male representative 
of his grandfather, in his generation, bearing the 
name of Bartlett, and the qualities of the father's 
nature were such as to make his personal desire 
for a son very strong. The boy, a noble specimen 
of babyhood, was christened Edwin, after his be- 
loved and lamented uncle. 

The year 1872 was a full and busy year for 
him, and a year in which he came more prom- 
inently before the public than he had done since 
the war ended. In January, he accepted a posi- 
tion upon the personal staff of the Governor of 
Massachusetts, with the rank of colonel. His 
health was, as he described it, " so, so," which, 
from him, meant that it was very poor. He pro- 
posed to go, early in the year, to Virginia, to at- 
tend to some business, but his condition became 
so much worse that he was obliged to defer the 
visit for several weeks. By the end of March he 
had been for some time in Virginia, and he pro- 

15 



memo wn /./.i y i 

inced hi much tb< 

there. 

L 87 2 i 

vimr to Bee ure a Domination for Pi 
tin- United States which Bhould commend itself 

,11 tlif true friends of reform and in- 

ment, irrespective <>t party Lines. In iiii- un 
taking < ■ neral Bartleti to k a very deep ii 
Hia sympathies were made known by the foil 
i publication in the " Springfield Republl 

April 1". L872, and the following lei 

feelings about the enterprise and alt: — 

A FIRST GUN. 

Jiriiir UFOB i in. I i:i BID] M I u. - :oxs 

AM' < \ \ l > 1 1 • \ : 

To the Editor op the Republican, — On nr 
torn from Virginia, after a bd I 

columns of your Boston c thai " ' 

Bartlett, who h is been selected by 
men of the Bast, in consultation with canny Berks! 

the proper person to represent ^ hu- 

6etts at Philadelphia, is more of a Boldier thao politic] 
but is counted on to go for Grant as 

ometime previous to the date of I 
art; Lned to allow the use of i ! 

suppose that the selection would be approved; bu 

us to me only the part of candor t hat 

while I am flattered to learn that my name has 1 ■ 

isidered in connection with so distinguisl 
lion, I -.un not " in be* Counted ou to go for Grant," il 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 227 

that means, as I fear it does, blind allegiance to the 
group of politicians under whose control General Grant 
has unfortunately placed himself, and whose solicitude 
seems to be greater for the Republican party than for 
the welfare of the country. 

But I am waiting, as I know thousands of other good 
soldiers, and good Republicans now "counted on to go 
for Grant," and good men of all parties, are waiting, for 
the nomination of a man whose administration shall be 
above suspicion, not above investigation ; who cannot be 
used or abused by any set of selfish politicians of any 
party; who will illustrate the true meaning of "civil 
service reform " by benefiting and enriching the nation 
and not the individual ; whose ability as a statesman is 
balanced by his integrity as a man; whose great services 
to his country in the darkest days of our civil war, when 
single-handed at the English Court he stemmed the tide 
of foreign intervention with skill and fearlessness unsur- 
passed, can never be forgotten by those to whom the 
honor of their country is as dear as her success; whose 
name is Charles Francis Adams, and whom, if the Cin- 
cinnati Convention shall have the wisdom to nominate, 
the people will have the independence to elect. 

W. F. Bartlett. 

Pittsfielp, April 21, 1872. 

I have about decided that it is my duty to go to Cin- 
cinnati. I am urged to do it by men who hope for Mr. 
Adams's nomination there; and I do not think the del- 
egation of this State will be as strong as it should be, 
in case there is any great difference of opinion as to the 
strength of the three or four probable candidates. Mr 



MEMOIR :'/■" WILLI A M I R 

1 1 

itioD ainl i' ' 

■ \ . \ in the I 

S 

ling tip :■ . I 
i any Btrengtb tl er the li 

I shall !••• hopeful for th< f the 

movement, if it Bhall Bee lit to pc I rumbul 

head of the ticket, and Bhall Bnpport it, but I 
inv heart will not be in it. as it will it' .M . \ 

man. 1 have been with all and 

I c "i assure you, he bat 

Btrengtb of the Cincinnati movement, and Baid, .-in. 

other things that there was very little doubt of Illii 

going against Grant If Trumbull p . . . . 

1 1, j, that if the Cincinnati I 

with wisdom, and nominate Trumbull, • the 

Philadelphia Convention will be it. 

This you must not repeat as from Mr. , l>ut 

"have the information direct from high authority. 

Mr. 's chief fear is, doing any thing that 

hack power to tli- 1 I party. 1 tell him 

that the very way to prevent that, is for him a 
like him, who have taken an independent stand, to L r '> in 
and control this, ami outnumber the liberal I '■ 
who will join it. II«- t, and thinks th s of 

the nexl few weeks will decide the thi 

1 not tell you how utterlj ■• fill the id< 

going to Cincinnati, both physically and morally, is to 
I can i either afford the time, nor t : . nor the 

: but it i B < ' all, which I 

1 do about the nomination and 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 229 

tion of Mr. Adams. And if by any chance I should 
have an opportunity to assist in bringing it about, I 
should be too proud for anything. 

Why, Frank, just think of having a gentleman as well 
as a statesman for President again ! I hope you will 
talk Cincinnati among the men whom we know, espe- 
cially soldiers, who would, in case of Adams's nomina- 
tion, come out in a public indorsement of it. Why 
won't you sound Sam. Quincy, who is in the House of 
Representatives, and Codmau ditto, and Cogswell, if you 
choose, George Barnard, Osborne, and the like ? These 
men I name, as they have had some experience and 
prominence in affairs, and could organize such a move- 
ment. 

General Schouler has w r ritten me enthusiastically, and 
will go to Cincinnati if he can afford it. lie was a 
delegate to the late Worcester Convention, and one of 
the vice-presidents. General Dale is heartily in favor 
of it. The chairman of the Republican Soldiers' and 
Sailors' Committee of New York State, II. A. Barnum, 
has written me that they have had a meeting of repre- 
sentative soldiers of the different States at Washington, 
and decided to issue a circular letter preliminary to call- 
ing a general meeting of soldiers to "protest against 
the further progress of the alarming disintegration of 
the Republican party which has taken place under the 
administration of General Grant," — "and formally to 
call ou the Philadelphia Convention to nominate a can- 
didate other than Grant, and one who can unite the 
party, etc." 

He tells me he finds the anti-Grant feeling very 
strong among soldiers. That has been my experience 



WILLIAM J J: ' I T. 

! ' John or * 

half hour. Th 

to be pursued at Cincinnati, \\ hi 

t ili. in and they think it i 

.1 I go down for :i 'lay tbi 

of :i • legram from you. 1 1 
think ii would I em t<> be, officii 

I hope you will write me tl c. Yom 

know how much I depend <>n you for : . and sym- 

pathy. Ei er y< 

l*i r I -in i D, 

1 am just off for Cincinnati, spending Sunday in 

i friends, and bo break up the j . I 

.shall be with friends in Cincinnati, bo that my personal 

ifort there will be greater than it' I had to take mj 
chance at the ! 

your letter, and am not discouraged entirely by 
it. I am more hopeful than yon that Mr. Adams will 
be nominated, ami it' that is done, then th ility 

of his non-election must rest <>n the m< .i in this com 
wh<>. believing him to It tin- best man, will, und< 
dictation, vote for Borne one else. My feeling about the 
Cincinnati movement is Bimply this: If nan ai 
there to attempt to achieve their own ambitions by 
pushing ami bargaining tor this or that particular man, 

ause he will serve their ends or carry out // 
rial theory, the Booner it is Mis the 

er. 

M . Adams ha well know, 

foil do "claque." He i- not popular with politi- 

cians, ami he can only be nominated by ju^t such ■ 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 231 

rising above personal considerations, and an honest 
desire for better things, as I hope will show itself at 
Cincinnati. If not, I shall come home very much 
disappointed; but I cannot think I shall ever feel any 
disgrace in having joined a forlorn hope for an assault 
on a corrupt party management, even if the assault 
should be repulsed; or that I shall lower myself in my 
own or your estimation by advocating the nomination of 
such a man as Mr. Adams against anybody. 

With much love, yours hastily. Frank. 

Pittsfield, May 20, 1872. 
(Do you recognize the writing as seen in your youth?) 
I leave to-morrow for New York, whence I returned 
Friday night, and expect now to go on from there to 
Boston, arriving probably Thursday morning. I will 
look in at your office during the forenoon, and tell you 
more of my plans. I shall, I think, stay over Sunday 
and Monday, when we are to be on duty I suppose. I 
have been constantly busy since I returned from Cincin- 
nati, where I was delayed several days by illness, par- 
tially brought on, I dare say, by a u damned defeat" that 
" was made " there at that time, of which more anon. 
In haste. Ever yours, Frank. 

Near the end of May, the furnace of the Pome- 
roy Iron Works, at West Stockbridge, was de- 
stroyed by iiro. It was a heavy blow to Bartlett, 
as he was both superintendent and personally a 
large owner in the property. But he was not 
given to lamentation, and it is in these words that 
he refers to the event : " With my disheartening 



WILL/A U i 

disappointment at ( lincinnati on 1 1 tliin 

d the 271 h, I <l"n't thin) month 

mncl 

I :n the middle of thi It in 

I;' hmond, where he pri 

and near which wa propel lie P< 

batan [ron < lompanj , of w hich 1 
treasurer and manager. This property waa owi 
l>v northern men and Bupplied with 
capital, and he had high ho] \ ing a 

gainful enterprise, and he 
time to profit personally from a change of r< 
den i southern State. II«- worked very hard 

ting things to rights at the Virginia furn 
and also in rebuilding the fun 
bridge, which latter was Lighted on the 1 tth of 
( Ictober. 

On the 24th of September, the Soldiers' Mon- 
ument at Pittsfield was dedicated, with appro] 

remonies, and in the present 
concourse of peopl , General Bartleti took a 
it Interest in this monument, and he waa the 
chairman of the committee on procurii I !«• 

wrote the dedicatory inscription which is cut up m 
the ba le, and which read : — 

( )n the wesi i"a- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 233 

FOR THE DEAD 
A TRIBUTE. 



FOR THE LIVING 
A MEMORY. 

FOR POSTERITY 

AN EMBLEM 

OF LOYALTY TO THE FLAG 

OF THEIR COUNTRY. 

On the east face, 

WITH GRATEFUL RECOGNITION 
OF THE SERVICES OF ALL HER 
SONS 
WHO UPHELD THE HONOR AND 
INTEGRITY OF OUR BELOVED 
COUNTRY 
IN HER HOUR OF PERIL, 
THE TOWN OF 
PITTSFIELD 
ERECTS THIS MONUMENT IN 
LOVING MEMORY OF THOSE 
WHO DIED THAT THE 
NATION 
MIGHT LIVE. 



I ech in which ( 

ally delivered the monumenl to the . he 

ike in term " . I l^I i }>i . and 

then Baid : — 

1! has taken for his Bubj* the pri Mier 

>ned officer, but than 

either, — the man on whom - 

V. the man on wli- jetting b ind un- 

flinching firmness the Bteadiness of the whole 1 
d< d, the man who bore the colors. 

vcr any flag half BO Well worth fightll g for, 

half bo well worth dying for, aa the flag 
As I look upon your faces thai 1 have seen amid the 
Bmoke of battle, and remember how yon up the 

- made by the fall of those whom we hon . I 

am us that to yon also belongs a Bhare 

honor, but with this difference : their fam 
:n i«l Becnred by dying heroic 
be maintained and preserved by living 

The climate of Richmond I to fulfill the 

expectations of the man who bo much needed 

ry help thai climate could give him, and he 
wrote there, at the beginning of < October, that he 
beli himself to be bel teT in health than 

many months. At the end of the same month he 

ablished his family there, in one of the 1 
houses in the city. The people of Richmond 
inaih- an exception in his favor to their then usual 
treatment of northerners, and before his family 
had been there a month, they found themseh 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS B ART LETT. 235 

"overwhelmed with kindness, cordiality, and hos- 
pitality from the very nicest people here." His 
wife writes of the following period : — 

Frank was very hopeful and very busy that winter 
and spring, getting things ready to start the furnace, 
making excursions up the canal into the ore districts, 
going down into mines, and doing things a whole man 
would have shrunk from, — making contracts for ore, 
getting leases of some very valuable beds, and in every 
way busy, and working with bright hopes and a hearty 
faith that all was <ioin<r well and that the Virginia en 

terprise would be a complete success He was 

pretty well that year, for him. Hardly a week ever 
passed without his suffering in one way or another. He 
was better than in 1871, when he had that dreadful 
congestive chill, and also better than in 1872, when he 
had the severe attack of pleurisy which laid him up for 
so Ions; a time. 

He passed most of the year 1873 in Richmond. 
His family went to their Pittsfield home at the 
end of May and returned in October. He was 
sometimes with them and sometimes on the water 
during the summer, but lie was more or less at 
and near Richmond and at the ore-beds during 
the whole time of their absence. The summer 
was darkened for him by the death of his sister 
Edith, his youngest sister and "his pet and 
shadow." 

The following letters belong to the first year of 
his stay in Richmond : — 



i MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BABTLBTT. 

\.\ n< him RO, V \.. 
M I Dl LB A.G PTE8, — T have j 

to tell yon thai we have returned safely from our 
dreaded Eyehole expedition up into the mountains, and 
Jong much better than we feared 

\\ , got down from Echols's this a. m. abo 
ami are down the canal <>n our beloved pa 

night .1 place twenty miles or so below] 

We have traveled on this same old packi iow 

thai we feel as it' Bhe was our private yacht, and 
captain ami steward and all hands to think 

for they don't often have anybody, I fancy, that irives 
them anything, and they would, any of them, jum 

rd for i! >uld ask them. We g a to 

this place about twelve to-night, and i find 

lodgings in on tlif canal till morning, when 

shall ride out to the ore-bed, about two and a half miles 
from the river. 

We expect to get back to the canal and take the up 
1m. at. which comes along about one o'clock at night, and 
n- back here. Friday morning in time to take the 
Washington train. If we get our clothes off Friday 
iii- lit, it will he the first hut one for a week. I < ; 
intend to be dean again till I a into a hath tub at 
Washington. You feel just a- well if you only 
1 to it. 

You want to know about the Echols trip. Well, we 
Bet sail in our Bteam yacht, three-horse-power engii 
<:he steam is in the cabin, where the 
very even temperature, red hot all the time. If on< 
darkies ign of black about it, he 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 237 

"goes for it" like mad, and soon restores it to its proper 
condition. The " bridal state room," which I have al- 
ready described, is pushed to the end of the cabin, as far 
as possible from this beast of a stove, but my feet come 
within about three feet of it then, and I dreamt last 
night that I was John Rogers and you had two small 
children and one at the breast. (Kniffin suggests that 
I had better remark here that we brought back most of 
the whiskey which we took with us, so that you need 
not suppose my imagination has anything to do with the 
above statement.) Well, to resume, we steamed out of 
the harbor of this magnificent city in a blinding snow- 
storm, at half past five Monday evening, and crossed 
the bar at six. (You have to cross the bar to get to the 
supper table, and our cook always gets us up something 
extra when we are on board.) I tell you it looked 
rather dusty when we thought of getting out on to the 
canal bank at two o'clock in the morning, but we turned 
in at the usual hour, and I slept the sleep of youth and 
innocence on my downy table, wrapped in my cloak, till 
Clay called us, and told us that Captain Echols was 
coming on board. This was down at the junction of the 
James and Xorth rivers, where we meet the other 
boat going up to Buckannon, while our boat keeps on 
the North River up to Lexington. It seems that Cap- 
tain Echols and his son had come down to the mouth of 
the river to take the boat for Buckannon, and had sent 
their horses on to meet them there in the morning. It 
being such a rough night, they preferred the canal boat 
to riding all night, and hearing from Clay (the steward) 
that there were two gentlemen on our boat £oin£ to their 
place, they turned back, and came on board to go back. 



WILLIA 1/ 

W< . I lii red to think thai h e at 

• w i 1 1 1 him, bu( 
had ups< t bis plans, after being up all night H< 
i to think anythin I 

.-, iili the (»;1kt \ iew of it. 
1 !■■ and his Bon Looked exactly li 
1 officers, graj oi i felt Blouch , and 

all. We land( d at half pa lan- 

. we picked our way up to the b 
ably, although it was Mill Bnowing. W 
into the parlor, and a corn-cob fire 
ami we found that they did n't feel \ 
back there instead of on the road. We lay i >r a 

while, 1 down Btairs and Kniiiin up a] 
till alio _: 1 1 1 . when I found a 3 1 

(Henry Clay byname) mousing round m . 

my boots, I think. I gave him I me 

alone, and in a minute there wen- Beveral ju iiim 

that wanted to let me alone too. We had b 
down cellar with the family, — an aunl 

! about two \ two daughters, and ti 

small children, mate-, of the a1 

p breakfast, we mounted our horses ai ' I 

the mountain. It had Btopped Bnowing and 
clearing away. We saw th< ed, and the wl 

property. There has been a pile of mon □ it, 

and there is no doubt a large <1« posit of <■ . 

ry Buperior quality 

We returned to the Echols mansion about I 
dmed, and from thai time till half pat . when the 

boat canie down, we passed in the parlor. Btj 

etly, with the n gulaf 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 239 

southern accent ; but it was a treat and rest to hear 
music so far out of the world as that seemed to be. 
She sang several very pretty songs. They were alto- 
gether cordial and hospitable, and he is a very excellent 
man. 

Our yacht arrived at half past eleven and took us on 
board, and we came down through the Blue Ridge Gap. 
It was a beautiful, bright starlight night, and as we stolo 
noiselessly along at the base of those perpendicular piles 
of rock, going, apparently, straight into the side of the 
mountain, till just at the last moment a sudden turn 
showed a pass which the river had made for • us, we 
regretted that it was not daylight that we might see the 
views. I stayed up for an hour or more, till we passed 
the "Balcony Falls," and then was laid on the table. 
We arrived here at eight this morning, and our yacht 
swings gracefully at her moorings, waiting till six this 
evening, when we start down the canal again for River- 

O 7 ™ 

ville, Amherst County. It seems to be impossible to go 
any where, or come away from any place, on this canal, 
except between the hours of midnight and two a. m 

I went into a bank here, The First National, to get 
a New York draft for $100 cashed, and I really believe 
it nearly broke them. They may have had a little cur- 
rency left, but the last five dollars they had to make 
out with small bills and fractional currency 

Now. do be good, and get well, or I won't come home. 
The canal was skimmed over with ice when I went on 
deck this morning, and as it was before sunrise, I had a 
good appetite for breakfast at seven 

Love to chicks. I hope little Agnes is all right 
«gain. Ever your own loving Frank. 



WILLIAM 11; 

I m living principally on fa ; hominy three 

: 

BaLOOVY 1a: 1378. 

M v DARLH A poOP a mail I I 

ild have a hundred dollar- if \ 

a with in-- to-day. I \ I here v% i 1 1 1 Captain I 
mlay morning, abont tin-. rday did a full 

Explored tin- min< . 
hundred feet, t«» thi ad. It was pretty M 

so I 'iv one had been in there, and they put me 

on ; and pushed me ahead of them, at 

to walk. I thought of 
all - which I did n't see, bul '1 when 

I a >t through and turned to i_ r o out I i 

I on the packet that night, and added to it in this 
tunnel, I think, but I had t<> do it. I mad 
ith various parties, all 
1 all my business last 
This morning Captain Echols and I Btarted on fa 
k for the Natural Bridfi 

and hack. Well, if I live, you he up 

1th me this fall, and go over there. 1 w 

I had Been the Natural 11 

my d wond« rs of the 

world, bul 1 did q'1 k in it. and 

surprise was all the greater I [ 1 

■lis which I had supposed did it Ju 
round i the bridge, •'• h( re 1 e of 

that hai 
'•nt round and climbed down and 

same up under tfa which I can liken to nothing 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 241 

else than the stupendous aisle of one of God's great cathe- 
drals. The tree which stands in the bed of the brook and 
which looked like a currant bush from the top, we sat 
down under and ate our " snack," and found it stood 
ninety feet high over our heads and was a foot and a half 
through at the base. While we were sitting there, we 
heard the sound of many voices singing a hymn and ap- 
proaching, and as there wound down the side of the 
ravine, in procession, a party of colored people to a bap- 
tism in the pool below, the effect of a cathedral that had 
already impressed me was very much heightened. We 
witnessed the service, and after cutting a little cross on 
the tree to show you as my mark when I take you there, 
we went up and found our horses, and turned towards 
home. The scenery all about here is gorgeous. 

I feel a little tired to-night from riding so far, but I 
shall sleep all the better when I get on the boat, which 
I expect along about eleven 

The contrast between the weather to-day and last 
Sunday is immense. There never was a more perfect 
day than this has been. It is right cool to-night, but 
I am warmly dressed. Captain Echols is a very nice 
man, just as good and conscientious as he can be. I 
couldn't have anybody else here in whom I could place 
60 much confidence. They are all so happy to have him 
home again. He has been away nearly six months 
from all these young children, without a mother, and 
tl y fond of him, especially one of the older 

girls, who is a cripple and invalid. And to have him 
home to stay, with a position that pays him even more 
than lie was getting out on the railroad, makes them 
16 



242 " WILLIAM 

all - tppy, and me too, I 

i .• 

I ,:h (if tl 

I >nder who we shall hive in bii 

M; love to tl ■ 
her. I thought of her to-daj think >! 

is Walt r g< tting on ? You 
thing aboat him, or the mill. M\ the 

furaa 

1 - as it" 1 had a good deal to di h op in 

Richmond and New York, and be with 
other Sunday comefl round, but I hoj i it. I did 

want you so to-day, though, you darling, t> 
would bo appreciate and enjoy it. Captain 1 
we'll have a pic w hen you com.-. 

I. all. I- n't it little Ag tliis 

k? My best love and kisses to the dear little 
woman. What a 3 tting to 

Good-by, my V wn, 

I'liANK. 

Fi> 

Suu 

Darling Agnes, — T can hardly believi '• was 

only a week ago that I was with you in Pi I 

have trav. many long miles, and h 

places, and done so much, that it - . month unci I 

left you. I wonder if you wore your seal-skin to church 
to-day, for I wore my< \ and h 

1 fire this eveni 

It has been a lovely day. and cooler than we shall be 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 243 

apt to have many of. I came down here from Stanton 
yesterday morning, hoping to get through and take the 
night train to Richmond; but I found it could not be 
done. So I took up my abode here with the Schmuk- 
ers, and have had a very quiet day of rest, after a sat- 
isfactory day at the ore bank yesterday. 

The Gibson Bank is at last mine, and it puts us out 
of all uncertainty as regards ore. What I have accom- 
plished this last week is worth fifty thousand dollars to 
the Powhatan Co. I can now be a seller of ore instead 
of a buyer. No end of people have tried before to get 
control of this bank, and failed, and since I have been 
in negotiation for it people have made bigger offers than 
mine. 

It has taken diplomacy and money. I have bought 
up and paid off the various claims and liens, and now 
have absolute possession of the place for ten years. 
I feel much happier than I did when I started up here, 
and hope to find everything going right when I get back 
to-morrow. I don't feel the same pleasure, though, in 
getting back to Richmond now, to that empty house. 
I shall find several letters from you, and hope you and 
the dear children are all well, and that you can write me 
you are feeling ever so much better, and getting fat. 

This morning I went with George Schmuker to 
church, and I wish I could begin to describe to you the 
experience; but it would take too long, writing by this 
single tallow candl<\ and I must go to bed, as we break- 
fost early every morning but Sundays. Last night I 
1 Mr. Schmuker what time they would breakfast 
this morning, thinking I would have a good sleep, and 
be said, ki Oh, we don't breakfast till late Sundays — not 



2 1 I OF WI1 1.! A 1/ 

. anyw;i ! 

ihall be turned out at roar to-morrow :wi<l bi 
about five, perhaps. Well, the church is about t\'. 

in the midst of a beautiful oali I line 

old tn . I- buill i I brick and is a fine build 

it as U 3t Stephen' . 

It was a new building about twenty y< 
of 1 1 1 * * former church, which I in 

this neighborhood — about undred and forty y< 

old. The old graves in the cemetery about it 
age. It is called, u Tinkling Spring Chun m a 

itit'ul Bpring which drips over a shelving rock d 
by, and a bucket of the cool water stands in the porch 
with a tin dipper, which is in constant use. 

They tell a Btory <>f the original parson who ec 
lished the church in ti irly times, that he did not 

like this location, but wanted it 04 S .ton 

now is j but the advantage of the Bprii ied the 

majority of the parish it him, and he obstinal 

declared that do water from that sprii 
tinkle down his throat, and he kept his word. 

When we came to th< ry tree bad on< 

more horses tied to it, some with saddles and Bide-sad- 
lUts and pillions, others in carriages and . Out- 

Bide in front of the porch i bled the men, talk- 

. Bmoking (buying and Belling on tin* sly), dis< 
the crops, the weather, and after our arrival, « vidently, 
me. 1 was introduced to all the worthies, but the I 

them have a broken down, degraded look. 
lieve eating hot bread and owning ni vill dest 

any i:i< er a while, on J from a bell, 

went inside, where I found the 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 245 

with women and children. I found a scat near the 
door, and the services began with a voluntary from the 
choir, accompanied by a melodeon. They sang two 
verses all right. When singing the third, some well 
dressed young man came in, and they all began to look 
at him, lost their places, and completely broke down and 
stopped, recovered on the fourth verse, and got through 
the other three all right. Then a long Methodist look- 
ing man made a short prayer and gave out a hymn 
"omitting the sixth verse," and read it all through. 
Then he read from the Bible, and explained the verses 
as he went along, by transposing them into his own 
language, which of course was not as good, or as clear 
and simple as the original. Meantime, if you could 
have heard the noise, you would wonder how the man 
could go on at all. Babies of all ages, from those born 
this morning up to five and six, were talking, singing, 
eating, and crying, and very little attention seemed to 
be paid to stopping them. After he began his sermon, 
one child, especially, kept up a howl and talking, and it 
was impossible for me, near the door, to hear the parson, 
who spoke rather low. 

The children made so much noise you couldn't sleep, 
and the minister so little that you couldn't keep awake, 
so that between the two you were thoroughly uncom- 
fortable, lie was too much for the babies, though, and 
after three quarters of an hour he had them pretty well 
exhausted, and they gradually fell off asleep or went out 
to play, and he went on untiringly for half an hour 
longer. 

One hour and a quarter, by my watch, was the length 
of his sermon, and not a thought or an idea in the barrel 



117/./ I AM l /;. 

I another long hymn, and two hours 
. ten mil >m the tim< . I i 

iiit<» ii i air under the "tit 

sinner, ho mmon 

had found some graii I in all 

this '• : »-time M which seemed to be the only 1); 

in the monotony of their Uvea. It 
for them, bnt I was very cross with thi 
is the principal of a young ladies' school I — 

enediction, the women linger in the chu 
to talk, and tlif men assembl le and resume the 

operations interrupted by the bell. Alter a whi 

. and you b< e a man with two child 
behind him on horseback, or a woman. 

me of these pe God help 

them, how little they know of lif»- and corafoi I ! I 
pose, though, they arc contented in their ign 
kii"' >thing better. I tied an invitatioi 

"preaching" here in the village this afternoon, and I 
a cap ' ■■ ad. 

I did n't mean to spin Buch a long yarn, bul 
don't often gel long letters from me in t] 
working days, yon will not mind it, will you, old ; 

is? I go down to-morrow and shall lx' in Rich- 
mond, D. V.. al five p. k. I hope it will I >L 
■ all. .!• own, 

9 \-. 

Mv Dl ai: Mi:. ::, — I 1>. g you will pardon the 

Intrusion <»t' my ei I feel tor 

who ha m poor 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 247 

aid Massachusetts' record the disgrace which they and 
their predecessors involved her in. I was asked to 
head a petition in support of Mr. Whittier's, which I 
did immediately, because to have refused would have 
been misinterpreted. But it was only on the ground of 
helping to remove the stain from Massachusetts that I 
could bring myself to sue as petitioner to the grave and 
reverend seignors of the present great and general court. 
And I expressed myself to this effect, and more, in my 
letter accompanying. 

The fact is, my dear Mr. Sumner, these people cannot 
comprehend nor appreciate the higher, truer patriotism, 
which is embodied in your resolution. And many in- 
telligent men, from whom you would expect better 
things, are not yet ready or willing to think of this 
country as a reunited one. They are not yet really good 
Union men. They are not Americans, they are North- 
erners. 

But this is a view which I have not seen mentioned 
in the varied discussions on the subject of the names of 
battles on the United States flags, viz., ou<;ht it to be 
any more distasteful for an ex-confederate to march un- 
der a Hag bearing the nam'e of Gettysburg, than for an 
ex-federal soldier to march under the name of Fredericks- 
burg or Bull Run, or half the names on our Hags which 
mark defeats, not victories? If we had nothing but the 
names of victories on our colors, then to efface them 
would be noble, but as it is, where we efface a victory 
we shall also wipe out a defeat; where is the magnanim- 
ity in that ? 

I offer this suggestion, having little doubt, however, 
that it has already occurred to yoi' 



117/.// 

I i i to hear rep VUt ti 

lth, which I sincerely tin 
.1 by rest, and remain 

\ ■ lithfully yc4 IT. I 

w 

Mv deab General, — Accept, if 3 . tlie 

f :m invalid for this too tan 
in. Mit «.f your kind letter, dated as long .Much 

24th. 

And please also to accept 11 
not doubt that when the question of tin- flags is under- 

1, there will 1»<* no differei pinion. It will 

hard for good people, and especially military m< d, to 
dissent from the authority of General* - 
and Thomas, all of whom approved □ 1 when 

offered in 1862. It will he hard, a' il from 

the example of history. No civilized nation p: 
on it> flags the names of battles between fellow-citiz< 

The memory of Buch bloody discord must 

aed to history, and not be flaunted b< 

.'and. France, Prussia, Italy, and Austria have fol- 
lowed this commandment of patriotism and civilization. 

A- your letter is dated at Richmond I shall add 
you there, although I I 1 have h ft that pla 

Believe me, d< ar < ien< '-ah faithfully you 

Chari 1:. 

In IsT 1 he still made his home iii Richmond. 
At the beginning of the year he felt encouraj 
as to 1 il asp< business. In l - 

rnary, upon i his Virginia j"i: he 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 249 

caught a cold, which ended in a cough which 
never afterwards left him. It is probable, how- 
ever, that his constitution had by this time be- 
come so weakened that causes slight in appear- 
ance were sufficient to produce grave results. In 
March of this year, twin boys were born to him. 
In June he had a week's illness, but he was much 
strengthened by a visit which he made to a 
friend's house on the Beverly shore immediately 
after. It was well for him to gather strength, 
for one of the eventful days of his life was at 
hand. On the 23d of June, the dedication of 
Memorial Hall, the great building erected to com- 
memorate the services in the war of the sons of 
Harvard College, took place at Cambridge. The 
next day Avas Commencement Day, and the com- 
mencement dinner was served, for the first time, 
in Memorial Hall. General Bartlett was the chief 
marshal of the day. Cambridge commencement 
dinners are crowded affairs, as a rule, but this 
day the interest excited by the new building 
drew together an unusual throng. After several 
speeches of the customary degree of merit and 
interest had been made, the president called upon 
General Bartlett. A midsummer's day at Cam- 
bridge is apt to be hot, and this day was not an 
. -pi i<m. By the time the dignitaries have made 
\heir speeches, the guests are getting weary and 
uncomfortable, and the thought of the fresher air 
without growls more and more tempting. It is 



WII.I.1A 1/ FRA ■ 1A77 / ■ 

arable momenl for the debut of i 
Ami yel when Bartlett an I the i. 

words uttered by hi- deep and manly voice n 

heard, and the audience beca I bai 1 1. 

came from the shattered Boldier whose tall i 
Blender and wasted face they had Been 

head of the p be painfully marshs 

it thai day, a great Bilence fell upon the multi- 
tude, and be continued and finished bia speech in 
the midsl of Bilence, ben it was bi oken, 

than once, by spontaneous bui 
of cheering. When he to >k hi 
cheering followed, and all felt that an event had 
taken place. It is within 1 >< >un<l- . that i 

many years Bince any Bpeech made in New Eng- 
land has produced bo great an effect. He >;-oke 

: — 

Mr. President. — The first meeting of the alumni 
ind the table in this ball, which we yesterda 
d to the memory of our brothers, - >m- 

mon interest to us; and I think I speak for all their 

in arms when I say that the thoughtfuln 
which a to ii- the honorable duties of this day, 

rec< and appreciated. The day is nol without 

we read the beloved names on those mai 
tablets, and yet not without gl that 

who • fortune may come to us as i! 

on, their tan,' are — immutable — immon 

shall grow old and wear out, hut they will always 
■> for us their id--. j outh. 1 \\ 



MEMOIR OF WILL I AM FRANCIS BART LETT. 251 

lo hear from the lips of your distinguished orator yes- 
terday such testimony to the absence of natural bitter- 
ness among the mass of the people at the South ; that it 
was due in great part to the energetic cultivation of hot- 
brained leaders for selfish ends. I think that the nat- 
ural instinct of the people everywhere is toward peace 
and good will, and were it never thwarted by party 
intrigue, we should be much nearer to a perfect union, 
such as these men fought for, than we are to-day. The 
occasional fire-brands thrown in the path of reconcilia- 
tion are from the hands of those who, while the battle 
lasted, sought " bomb-proof " positions in the rear, and 
they no more represent the lighting men of the South 
than the plundering politicians who have spoiled them 
represent the true hearts at the North. I firmly be- 
lieve that when the gallant men of Lee's army surren- 
dered at Appomattox (touched by the delicate generosity 
of Grant, who, obeying the dictates of his own honest 
heart, showed no less magnanimity than political sagac- 
ity), they followed the example of their heroic chief, and, 
with their arms, laid down forever their disloyalty to 
the Union. Take care, then, lest you repel, by injus- 
tice, or suspicion, or even by indilference, the returning 
love of men who now speak with pride of that flag as 
"our Hag." It was to make this a happy, reunited 
country, where every man should be in reality free and 
equal before the law, that our comrades fought, our 
brothers fell. They died not that New England might 
prosper or that the West might thrive. They died not 
to defend the northern capitol, or preserve those marble 
nails where the polished statesmen of the period conduct 
iieir dignified debates! They died for their country — 



J MEM wil.i.lA M | i i i r 

- than for the North. And 
southern youth, in the da; 

as he stands in these hallowed halls and reads th 
nan, grandeur and pi 

which, thanks to them, is still bis, will exclaim, ■ 
m< n foughl ilvation as p their on n. 

They died to preserve not merely the uni 
but the destinies of a continent." 

The remainder of the year 1 S 7 1 was marked 
{<>v him only by an accident which threatened 
disable his right hand. A piece of broken g] 
cut down to tin' bone of the thumb joint, making 
re and dangerous wound. This happened 
in .h>l\ ; I mi t his recovery was rapid, and in bj 
of hia Buffering he had more appetite and l< 
cough than for several weeka I I 

y much occupied, but hia health Beemed rather 
to improve as the year drew to its 

In March, l s 7-~>. he received an invitation from 
the committee which bad charge of the Cent - 
nial Celebration at Lexington, to make a speeeb 
at their dinner on the Huh of April. His f 
inclination was to refuse it. The following • 
tracts bIiow the course of hifl thought upon the 
Bubject, and the steps by which he was brought 
to say that he would accept the invitation : — 

March 25. I cannot think of accepting it. I could 

hing worth a to saj the 
ision or the audien* 

AprilS. My difficulty peaking Ingtonis 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 253 

this : that " the relations of the North to the South ' 
cannot be discussed from any point of view without crit- 
icising severely the action of the President and the ad- 
ministration party, who are in a great degree respon- 
sible for the unfortunate situation. The President will 
be the chief guest of my host on that day, and to say 
anything in the slightest degree offensive to him vrould 
be a breach of taste and hospitality. 

April 8. Everybody says I ought to go to Lexington, 
and I begin to think it over to see if I can avoid the 
obstacle and still say anything worth saying to such an 
audieuc . 

April 15. Finally wrote committee I would be at 
Lexington and say a few words at their dinner. I have 
been in much doubt, and have given the subject most 
careful and earnest thought, and there have come to me 
a few words which I feel may perhaps fall on good 
ground and bring forth the fruit of peace and reconcili- 
ation. For why celebrate the centennial of the birth of 
a nation if that nation is still to be divided and dis- 
tracted by sectional hostility ; fostered, as I truly believe, 
to a great extent, by politicians in both sections for sel- 
fish or party ends. I never could be a politician, for I 
should go for my country first and my party second and 
myself last. With most of the politicians of the day 
this order is reversed. 

April 18. Worked on my speech. It would be easy 
to write a long one, but to condense into a few minutes 
any thing worth saying in such a place, before the whole 
country as audience, is more difficult. It is treading on 
delicate ground, but I know I am sincere in my belief 
that what I am to say is for the good of the whoh coun- 



25 i h WILLIAM FR . I ; IT. 

try, and if I can < with me it will do mucfc 

cL 

The 19th of April was a bitterly dis- 

ble day. The crowd nt Lexington was im- 
mense, and the discomfort of the multitude \ 
ive. Genera] Bartlett was utterly un6t 
h an exertion and exposure, but he wi 
the man to turn back. He drove from ' i to 

l.< xington, and spoke rather late in the day, in 
response to the eighth I North and I 

South." He was chilled through, and faint from 
want of food. He spoke as follows: — 

Mr. President, — When I opened from 

it commi iking me to come from five hund 

miles away, and Bay a few words here to-day, it 
impossible. But as I read further your desire that I 
should Bpeak on the "relati - the N >rth to the 
South," and your assertion that, as an anprejudi 
server, what I might say would help to restore fraternal 
relations between the two ur coun 

although knowing how greatly yon overrated the value 
of any poor words of mine, I felt that, it' they could 
Lend the least aid to the result yon described, inclinati 
and the 'ares of business must yield to the \ 
duty: and I came. But, sir, I am not an "unprejudi 
observer." (>n the contrary, I have a p: . which 

is shared by all soldiers, in favor of ] And I 

think I may Bafely Bay, that, between the soldiers of the 
two ions of our country, fraternal relati 

were established Long ago. I hav< rong preju- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLET1. 255 

iice against any man or men who would divide or de- 
stroy or retard the prosperity and progress of the na- 
tion, whose corner-stone was laid in the blood of our 
fathers one hundred years ago to-day. Moved by this 
prejudice, fourteen years ago, I opposed the men who 
preferred disunion to death. True to this prejudice, I 
to-day despise the men who would, for the sake of self 
or party, stand in the way of reconciliation and a united 
country. The distinguished soldier who is your chief 
guest to-day never came nearer to the hearts of the peo- 
ple than when he said, " Let us have peace." And, sir, 
the only really belligerent people in the country to-day, 
north and south, are those who, while the war lasted, 
followed carefully the paths of peace. Do not believe 
that the light and dirty froth which is blown northward 
and scattered over the land (oftentimes for malicious 
purposes) represents the true current of public opinion 
at the South. Look to their heroes, their leaders, — 
their Gordons, their Lees, their Johnsons, Lamar, Ran- 
som, and Ripley, — and tell me if you find in their utter- 
ances anything but renewed loyalty and devotion to a 
reunited country. These are the men, as our great and 
good Governor Andrew told you at the close of the war, 
these are the men by whom and through whom you 
must restore the South, instead of the meaner men for 
whom power is only a synonym for plunder. As I 
begged you last summer, I entreat you again : do not 
repel the returning love of these men by suspicion or 
indifference. If you cannot in forgiveness " kill the 
fatted calf," do not with coldness kill " the prodigal." 
When the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment made 
its gallant attack on Fort Wagner, in July, 18C3, it lost, 



i MEMOIR OF WILLI A M 

with hundreds of It d, its 1 eroic leader juid 

colors. A '• "• ■ ■• that flag 

turned to the Governor of Massachusi tts l>v the officer 
who took it in action, with the* : — 

•■ [Jnder the existii e of things, I deem it d 

rous, it" not a ] to promote the oblivion <>f 

animosities which I idered 

war. I prefer to look upon such trophies as mement 
of the gal] mt conduct of men who, like Shaw. Putnam, 
and other sons of Massac! sealed with their ]'. 

their devotion to the cause which they adopted, rather 
than as evidences of prqwess on the one Bide or the 
other. The custodians of such :i mem< 
the authorities of the Btate served by 
and I therefore transmit the flag to your I 
for such di >n as the authorities of Ma 

bhall determine. 

•■ Respectfully, your obedi mt, 

•• EL s. Ripli r." 

bul a BOldier ran know how lie would i 

to a trophy that he had taken in honorable battle. No 
soldier b hat it would tip, 

unless compelled by the loftier mot chivalrous 

patriotism. And when General Ripley wrote that let- 
ter, he thought n«>t of s"lf. not of South Carolina no 
Ma . hut of a restored and a united couu 

and his heart embraced a continent. There are I 

flags in that Bacred hall in yonder Capitol, around \\ 1 

in the Bhock of battle, I hi 

brave men fall like autumn leaves. There are fi 

there that I cannot look upon without 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 257 

sorrow. But there is no flag there which has to-day 
for us a deeper significance, or that bears within its folds 
a brighter omen of " Peace on earth, good will to men," 
thai that battle-stained emblem so tenderly restored by 
a son of South Carolina, whom here, in the name of the 
soldiers of Massachusetts, I thank and greet as a brother. 
And I am proud that he was an American soldier. As 
an American, I am as proud of the men who charged 
so bravely with Pickett's Division on our lines at Gettys- 
burg, as I am of the men who so bravely met and re- 
pulsed them there. Men cannot always choose the right 
cause ; but when, having chosen that which conscience 
dictates, they are ready to die for it, if they justify not 
their en use, they at least ennoble themselves. And the 
men who, for conscience' sake, fought against their gov- 
ernment at Gettysburg, ought easily to be forgiven by 
the sons of men who, for conscience' sake, fought against 
their government at Lexington and Bunker Hill. 

Oh, sir, as Massachusetts was first in war, so let her 
be first in peace, and she shall forever be first in the 
hearts of her countrymen. And let us here resolve 
that, true to her ancient motto, while in war " Ense petit 
placidam" in peace she demands, not only for herself, 
but for every inch of this great country, " sub li.bertate 
quiet en i." 

He left the ground as soon as he had finished 
speaking, and returned to Boston. He records in 
his journal : — 

Got back to town about 8, well used up. The British 
certainly had their revenge on us to-day. We have had 
17 



WILLIA 1/ 1 1: 
quit*- as uncomfortable i day :i> they had a hand 

v 20. nave nr h in full 

in a •■ ery flattering of it I 

1 1 inv speech. It ia r< 
I am ?ery proud and happy. 

He 1 1 1 i ;_c lit. well be proud and happy. It falls to 
the l<>t of few to achieve Buch 
Ington. There are Bento 
which Nvill Linger long in the memoi 
of the thousands who heard them, but of t] 
of thousands of those who read them, and 
nized in the worn soldier who uttered them the 

• >r of true eloquence and genuine I 
country. 

( >n the 28th of April, the >nfedei 

s of Richmond expressed their 
speech by giving him a serenade, a1 which Gen- 

l Bradley Johnson spoke for them. General 
Bartletl replied in a Bpeech of Borne length, from 
which the following paragraph is taken: — 

"To ement the Union on a sounder foundation, and 
avail ourselves of the premises of the future, is a Bolemn 
task, w<ll fitted to these centennial 3 Lb sol 

who fought the little out in good faith, you ran wield 
the -t influence for peace and right Your w 

enemies at the South are the few men here and tl. 
who talk more bravely than they fought, and it is tho 
nine at the North ; bat the people there, tired of th 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 259 

politicians, whose voice is still for war, are fast replacing 
them by men of less selfish purposes, whose views are 
bounded by no narrow lines of state, or section, or party, 
but who desire justice and prosperity for all. The war 
through which we passed developed and proved, on both 
sides, the noblest qualities of American manhood. It 
has left to us soldiers, once foes, now friends, a memory 
of hard-fought fields., of fearful sacrifices, of heroic valor, 
and has taught us a lesson to be transmitted to our 
children: that divided, we were terrible, — united, we 
are forever invincible." 

His speech was sent all over the country by 
the Associated Press. He writes in his journal, 
April 30 : — 

The papers in Massachusetts and elsewhere nominate 
me for high office, as if that were the only reward a man 
can seek. I don't propose to decline any office until it 
is offered, but just as sure as T am offered the governor- 
ship of Massachusetts, I shall take the opportunity to 
prove that the satisfaction of doing one's duty so as to 
win the applause and approval of good men, is a reward 
greater than any office, and I am already repaid. 

Id May of this year, he was strongly urged to 
go to the Mecklenburg Centennial Celebration, at 
Chariot to, N. C.,but he declined, because troubles 
about coal made it impossible for him to leave 
Richmond. 

On the 6 th of June, he writes thus in his 
Journal : — 



I MEMO Will.! A M FRANi . 

My birthday. I li"j><> if I livt- to see u that 

affain \\ ill 1" >k more pro looks i 

bta b [ w< of it. I hi to I 

I ought to bav< '1 in ti 

else ilaried i 

red in*'. Or even it' I had I idy law 

at the end of the war, I might be bettei But 

God ki. 1 [ow little 

w< know what be baa in Btore for usl II 
very indulgent and merciful to me in spite of in 
Bhortcomin 

And now this year, when I supposed that public 
applause and the public approval of good men was a 
thing of the past, I find myself suddenly more con. 
uous than ever, and honorably _ I 

inctou tin- words that were in my heart, and which I 
believed would hasten the healing of the wounds of war 
in OUT country. 

At tins time he was much annoyed and made 

v anxious by coal strikes, and these came j 
as he was giving ap bis residence in Richmond. 
He was quite worn out, and pi^' him me 

• for a fortnight after he reached the North; 
but lie found time to prepare a little Bpeech which 
be had been asked to make at the approaching 
I mmencement dinner at Cambridge. H 

it in his journal, dune 28: "Poor thing. I 
will Dot do it again. Let those -peak who can 

ily." The following Letter desci 
mgs on receiving the ini itation : — 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS B ART LETT. 261 

West Stockbridge, Mass., June 19, 1875. 
... I found in this same batch of letters one from 
J. Russell Lou ell asking me to speak again at Com- 
mencement. This involves, no matter how small the 
result, a certain amount of thought and worry and de- 
pression, which I do not want to undergo; besides, I 
consider that I have done my share, and I know I have 
nothing more worth saying. 

They ask me to represent those who died in ihe war. 
I sometimes feel quite ready to be sent as ambassador 
to them. 

The rest of the year 1875 was for him a period 
of declining health and of declining fortunes. 
His journal reveals the fact that he was realizing 
with increasing clearness the fact that his end 
was approaching. The following extracts are in 
place here : — 

July 5. I am not at all well, and ought to keep still 
and do nothing, but I cannot. 

July 14. Write little Edwin. Dear little man, how 
I love him, and how I wish I could be spared long 
enough to win his love and memory. If I were to go 

this year or next, he would never remember me 

Dear boy, how I would like to watch him grow up. I 
would try to guide and guard him to be a better man 
than his father, who loves him so dearly. 

July 15. No man was ever blessed with such a per- 
fect wife and lovely children. I pray their lives may 
take no shadow from those which seem to hang about 
mine, now too near its close I fear. 



Will IA M 

much appetite. Felt 1 i K • 
tord 

A blae ' 1 : i \ for me. I am 
and pretty well unnerved. 

August •"'• Pr< ''} we\] used up. 

tust 7. Am \.iy tired and used up. but 
I ln.pl'. 

E& jt, !• Bt It i- verj here 

with my darling Agnes. 

SepU mb\ /• 1 7. Am much better. ( 
jht without leg, thin clothes, I ids. 

ember 25. Christmas. I could not i n ap- 

I to Btay (at Pittsfield), as I do nol 
them. 

These words were prophetic. It proved hit 
Lad < Ihristmas. 

Until December of this year. L875, when he 
tblished hia family once more at Pil 
they were mosl of the time at hia unci 
of Miramonte, on the North River, and he v 

netimes there, sometimes in New York and 
other northern cities, but twice at l< Rich- 

mond, where he Bpent much of the months of July 
and September. The panic of 1^7-. which ar- 
rested so suddenly and sharply the b 
perity of the country, had affected the iron in- 
terest with especial severity. The capital wh 
General Bartletf could command was mainly em- 
barked in the iron enterprises at W< 
oridge and at Richmond, and his distress of body 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 263 

was aggravated by the distress of mind which at- 
tended the mortification of failure and the pressure 
of narrowing means. He labored with all the 
vigor that was left him to bring about a better 
state of things, but in vain. Pie went to the 
length of endorsing individually the paper of the 
Richmond Company to get time. 

While health and fortune were thus declining, 
his life was not without pleasant incidents and 
gratifying proofs of the growing regard of his 
fellow citizens. The latter will receive more de- 
tailed notice, but among the former may be men- 
tioned his appearance as a speaker upon four 
occasions. At the reunion of his old regiment, 
the Forty-ninth Massachusetts Infantry, on the 
9th of September, he spoke as follows: — 

Comrades, — -To call on me for a speech at one of 
these reunions seems to me like calling on the father of 
a family to make a formal address to his children at his 
own table. For though you have outgrown my author- 
ity, you were my children once, and I fear that you re- 
member me as a rather " stern parent." 

I certainly never was accused of " sparing the rod" 
of discipline, and I hope you never were accused of being 
"spoiled children." 

I have no doubt that in the early part of your service, 
and on your first marches, you thought your Colonel 
was unnecessarily strict and severe. You could not see 
why you were not permitted the same license that other 
regiments in your vicinity had. 



264 14 

But in your first battle, when you found \ 
standing firm under li 

• ■ and ran away, and * 
and discipline yon turned 
uized the result where you had oot understood th 
and you were from that day i and 

your reginn d1 ;i~ I i 

The Forty-ninth was a peculiarly ]h>: : 

I mean by that, thi ility am 

members and between it- men and th< than 

was usuaL It was itrictly ■ county regiment (I i •*•] ' 
there was not a man in it from outs 
and this gave it a certain local pri yrit de 

oorpt " that waa \ > ry valuable. 

lint the secret of your success was roof of true 

manhood, your cheerful and intelligent submission to 
discipline, the subjugation of self to an idea. 
cringing to a man (your equal <»r perhaps inferior 
home) because he wore a Bhoulder-strap, but sul 
yourself to that emblem of authority without any loss 
of self respect, because it was for the good of the 
\ ice, and for the Bake of the country in \\ h< 
were offering your lives. This was the nobility <>i" your 
soldiership, and its memory must i your pri 

A' ition of the Public Library in bis 

native town of Haverhill, No 11. L875, he 

Bpofe 'Hows : — 

Ladies \m> Gentlemen, Fellow-citizens of 
II lvekhill, — Standing as this beautiful structu 
an land formerly my an< , within speaki 

jm< ■ . is the way, of the bouse w< re I was born, I 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 265 

think I may still claim fellowship here. It would be 
quite natural that you should forget the relationship, 
but to me it is a matter of such pride that I never can. 
And I am prouder than ever to-day of my native town. 
Proud of her history ; proud of her historic names ; 
proud of the men, some of whom I see about me, who 
have inherited and added honor to those names ; proud 
of her noble war record (which might have been pre- 
dicted by any one familiar with her colonial and revolu- 
tionary history) ; proud of her noble women, who in those 
trying times proved themselves worthy of their noble 
ancestry; proud of her "sweet singer" of the Merrimack, 
our own beloved Whit tier, whose absence to-day we 
regret, but whose words you have heard, and whose 
pure spirit and gentle verse shall be a benediction here, 
while the peace-makers go to " inherit the kingdom of 
heaven," and "the pure in heart" to "see God;" proud 
of her material prosperity and wealth ; but prouder still 
that she here recognizes the fact that there is something 
worth more than riches, and that culture, refinement and 
the dissemination of knowledge, are more to be desired 
than silver and gold. 

I am glad that you are to have a free library, abso- 
lutely free, and I will tell you why. It is found that a 
tax, however small and insignificant it might seem to 
many of you, would debar some from using the library, 
and those, the very people in whose hands we ought to 
place our books. When the public library in Pittsfield 
was opened to subscribers at the low rate of one dollar 
a year, the number of book-takers was four hundred. 
When the library became free, as it now is, the number 
increased to nearly two thousand, and is constantly 



WILLIAM FT. 

• "\\ ii of ten thousand inli il 
N .v, in regard to the class <>f* lM..»k- t<> I 
culatioi that nothing but \\li 

the literata 

•. in order I 
I . I think, is a mistake. Il i 
boy he Bhan'l go into the water till he km>v. i im. 

I te the taste, then elevate it a I; the 

can't read the kind of books tfa 
.simply won't read at all. Exclude poor 

library, and Bee how the circulation will dwindle 

lanation of this is to be found in the fact that if • 
has a taste for poetry or cl . he buys the 

nun' it' his means permit, for he wants it always by him. 
The novel he reads and has no further use I 60 

he takes il from the library. Do you ask how low in 
the Bcale I would go? To th* Horn, of 

eluding anv immoral trash. I would have tin- " I > 
Novels," by all mean-. They are highly - :.al. Imt 

morally harmless. My nun reading has not 1" 

uve enough to embrace these works, l»ut my infor 

tion comes from 01 P the foremost critics and • 

in this country, who has given much thought to this 
Bubject in connection with th public library 

ton. And now let me tell you a little Btory about 
the effect of thus putting the seal.' of reading down to 
the capacity of the poorest and young< st A dirty, 

.;■•'! little boy crawled into the public library of B 
ton, a few 3 ^o, and asked for a dime nov< . rhe 

superintendent told him if he would go and wash 

and hands and brush the dirt from his i 
iroold give him th< d book. The boy Boon a( 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 267 

returned, much improved iu appearance, and received a 
dime novel. The next day he came for another, — tak- 
ing care to appear cleaner than before, — and became a 
regular applicant. A few years afterwards, a young man 
applied to the superintendent for a certain rare edition 
of Shakespeare, which was not in the collection, and on 
conversing on the subject, he found that the young man 
knew more about the various editions of Shakespeare 
than he himself did. It was the boy to whom he had 
issued the dime novel, a few years before, and the last 
book that the librarian noticed as being taken out by 
him was Paley's k> Moral Philosophy." Now, I don't 
mean to say that every boy who begins on dime novels 
will rise to Paley. But I do insist that if that boy 
could not have had the dime novel at that time, he 
would never have read Paley or discussed the editions 
of Shakespeare. 

And it is for this reason that we should make our 
public libraries attractive, not only to the scholar, but to 
the very lowest and poorest, and give to all who come, 
not only the sense of welcome, but the sense of equality, 
also. For, as Ruskin has so well said, this court of 
the past, where kings and statesmen and poets, the 
purest and the wisest of all ages, stand waiting patiently 
in those silent alcoves to talk with and instruct us when- 
ever we will, differs from other courts and living aristo- 
cracies. Into this society of the great and good of every 
age and clime, the lowliest may enter, take rank and 
fellowship, not from his birth and wealth, or lack of 
either, but according to his desire. It is open to labor 
and to merit, but to nothing else. No wealth can bribe, 
no artifice deceive, no title overawe, the guardians of 



WILLIA V 
\ 

\ ■! i] ould ti . 

|y the \ tnd poor nod fi iendless. 1 

lower we go in laying the foundation lern so< 

Departing knowledge, or creating a d< it, 

Hi to * i-h mure VirtQi iin," 

the Baf! r and nobler will be the structure aboi 

\ 1 if tliis library, founded, sir, by your liberality 
ami wisdom, Bhall be the means of raising only oni 
these little ones from ignorance, • . and ci 

knowledge, which is wealth, to civili; 
you shall, one day, li«ar the words, " Well d 
the lips of Him who said : "Inasmuch as ye ha 
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 3 
e it unto mi 

And in introducing Mr. Schurz to an audience 
collected at Pittsfield on the 27th 0! the 

I'.. Hows : — 

It would be ;i poor 1 of the 1 »ve and 

I have for the people of Berks! 
Ben ted here to-night, we I to fulfil the promise which 
I ee has been made for me, and delay you with an in- 

luctory speech in the pi the man whom ; 

have rome to welcome and listen to. It would 
a little less superfluous than the introduction itself which 
I have I een asked to make. 

When Daniel Webster in trod u< 1 Wiliiam Wirt, 
Attorney-general of th<> United S the S 1 

ichusetts, in 1829, Mr. Wirt, in risi 
said 1l.1t Mr. Webster had laid him under an obi 
irhich he could never hope to n he was (juito 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 269 

sure that lie could never introduce Mr. Webster to any 
court where his name and fame had not already pre- 
ceded him. 

I am equally sure that Mr. Schurz cannot appear be- 
fore any audience of cultivated people, anywhere in this 
country of his adoption, where his name is not familiar, 
and his fame held dear. 

Now. why is this? 

Not because of his early history, so romantic, so 
heroic ; not because, when war in this country became 
inevitable, he went to the field and defended with his 
sword the principles which he had asserted and main- 
tained with his pen; not because he has held the high 
office of Senator of the United States; but it is because, 
while holding that sacred trust, he dared to remonstrate 
with and oppose those leaders, or rather misleaders, of 
the organization to which he belonged, when it became 
evident that they intended to use the country for party 
ends, rather than the party for their country's good. It 
is because he placed principle higher than party, and for 
the sake of right, honor, justice, and common sense, was 
willing to sacrifice self, place, power, and the friendships 
of years ; his only consolation, the pleasure, to which 
Lord Bacon has said no other can be compared, "that 
of standing on the vantage "round of truth." It is be- 
cause when this same party, fearing defeat this fall in 
the great State of Ohio, called on him to come over and 
help it. he did not stop to debate whether he ought to 
support a party which had insulted and driven from its 
councils such men as Carl Schurz and Charles Sumner, 
but, seeing that upon the great issue then before the peo- 
ple, the party (whether from conviction or policy ha 



WILLIA V J l: 

ght, that the honor tho 

nation was in danger, hi ill, bat 

hasten ins to the from al :t critical moment, when 
i, - : doubtful, when the partj 

••war is8U68 M ami <juil>Ui: 
tool qui " and all fell tli 

"Oi ' upon hit bugle born 

Wciv worth ;i thousand m 

such a- they, li«' threw the weight of hi- eloqm i 
the conviction of his sincerity into tl . ami tui 

a threatened defeat into glorious victory. A 
which, in this part oi' the country, I am proud to 
<• equal joy to both political parties. A vid 
which buried the weightless body of "inflation" in 

jrave — "not so deep as a well, nor bo 
church door," — but deep enough ami v, ; i to 

the remains of any party which shall 1. 
attempt its resurrection. 

I have trespassed too long on your patience, and our 
friend's modesty. Mr. Schurz, you need no introduction 
here; but it gives me great pleasure to introduce 
this assembly of my friends, your fellov* Berk- 

shire, whose sincere welcome, if not at their 
ends, awaits you more deeply in their hea 

At the dinner of tin" Now England by in 

N«-w York, "it Forefathers 1 Day, December 22, 
L875, In' replied as follow ■• I 

Reconstructed Republic : M — 

Five and twenty yean ago to-night you had 
honored guest that gr< w England, whose 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 271 

love for her was only equaled by his love for the whole 
country, and his devotion to the Constitution and Union 
under which it had advanced to power and prosperity. 
There are those here to-night, I doubt not, who, looking 
back a quarter of a century, will recall the presence and 
perhaps the words of Daniel Webster. They will re- 
member how in imagination he summoned forth from 
the Mayflower's company the form of Elder William 
Brewster, and put into his mouth words of gratulation, 
of caution, and of prophecy. We, too, on this anniver- 
sary night, call forth in our imagination his own majestic 
form, but who shall presume to put words into those 
lips ? I shudder at the presumption which leads me to 
say to him for you with plain sincerity what so many 
among you might express with eloquence as well as 
truth. I would tell him that in days gone by we have 
thanked God that when his eyes were "turned to behold 
for the last time the sun in heaven," they did not see 
him shining on the broken fragments of a once glorious 
Union, on a land drenched with fraternal blood. It was 
reserved for us who survived him to see the awful re- 
ality which he so vividly pictured, and, happily, it was 
reserved for us to pass through and see the light beyond 
those clouds which darkened his fading vision. I would 
have him know what I hope it is neither too early nor 
too late for us to acknowledge, that the doctrines which 
he instilled by the charm of his eloquence into the young 
hearts of New England and the North, that this their 
country was not a group of states, but a nation, great 
and indivisible, had filled them with a spirit of exalted 
patriotism, which, when the hour of that country's trial 
came, carried them to the field as it would have carried 



J, _' U Willi AM IT. 

them to the Btake in her d< 

in dai 

ly. and with the determination thai 
a|>|M ul to the Bword had been made, !• "uld 

jettled forever the question which, 
w shington, bad i itumbling-block 

the path "t" tin- nation' If I know anytl 

of the motives of the soldiers of N< ■■• I _'. d, I 
fought neither for glory nor for conquest, and, when 
broken sword i I ion was surrendered in rith, 

none were more ready than they to accept thi in 

equal honor, to bind np tin- dreadful wounds of war, and 
welcome their brothers back to a share in th< 
nation whose vi » that victory had ma 

Bible. I would have him know that from his own \ 
England came tin- first word 
yielding not one particle of principL ed a bi 

foe that all enmity had ceased "when ir-drum 

throbbed no longer, and the battle-fl 
that the thunder of those m 
dawn of our Becond century on the field of L< 
ami Concord, broke tin- ice ofestr :it and died 

and their echoes arc still vibrating among the 
that stretch from every battle-field of the Revolutioi 
v American heart. 

of New England, what fitter 
can we give thee than thine own words uttered hen 
long Words which, with thy foreboding 

were the aspiration of hope, but to as h >me the 

inspiration of prophecy : M Th 
has visited as. 'The oountry ha- been called back 
con and ilutj . Th< re IS no lo 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLKTT. Ti'-\ 

linger of dissolution in these United States. We shall 
live and not die. We shall live as united Americans, 
and those who have supposed they could sever us, that 
they could rend one American heart from another, and 
that speculation and hypothesis, that secession and meta- 
physics, could tear us asunder, will find themselves wo- 
fully mistaken. Americans, North and South, will be 
hereafter more and more united ; united now, and united 
forever." 

The following letter refers to the foregoing 
speech. 

N. Y. Hotel, December 23, 1875. 

I did not do anything about my speech early enough 
to send it to you. Indeed I didn't feel sure that I was 
to speak till I went there last evening, and found myself 
marched in next the President, Sherman, Governor 
Morgan, and Joe Choate. What I had prepared, after 
a good deal of thought, fitted well enough the toast I 
was given, of a " Reconstructed Republic." 

But what I wanted your advice on, was the propriety 
of introducing Daniel Webster (as I found it was in 
1850, at their dinner, he made his great speech, from 
which I quote), and whether it was too early, or too 
fco pay a little tribute to his fame, which at the last 
had been clouded, and to the influence which I have 
always believed he exerted in creating and consolidating 
the intense Union feeling at the North, without which 
the war never could have been carried through. The 
speech was very well received, and I had many con- 
gratulation-;. I delivered it very well, although my voice 
was a little hoarse. You see how I talk to you, as I 
18 



WILLI I 
l.ut to 

i your love thai I think u l 

eerus me will in . oil 

& 

Though the pro< a in which he 

3 held by his fellcw-citizens, which have 1 
already mentioned as received by him in I 
■ gratifying, yet, happened, tl 

caused him no small embarrassment. Jn Septem- 
ber, he was offered the Democratic oominati 

the place of Lieutenant-governor i 
clin earlier Bympathi 

i ugly to the 1 democratic side. T] 
Democratic part} during the war had tur 

mpathies the other way. and f< 
r the close of the war he had ac lly 

with the Republican party. Of Lata 
with many of the besl men at tl 

ome c i with the cond 

the Republicans, especially in th< tent 

of the South. But he was alwi man \ 

cared more for substance than for names, m 
for principles than for platforms, and he 

med an enthusiastic admiration for the char- 
acter of Mr. Charles Francis Adams. He thought 
thai Mr. Adams might receive the Republi 
nomination for Governor, and Ids feeling for him 
- Bach that he w; nally unwilling to 1 

upon a ticket opposed to him, and. n ; 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 275 

the supposition that his name would lend strength 
to the Democratic ticket, he was unwilling to con- 
tribute to the defeat of the very man whose elec- 
tion he ardently desired. Thus, though inclined 
on other grounds to accept the nomination, he 
notified the Democratic managers on the 18th, 
two days after hearing from them, that he would 
not be a candidate. • 

On the 23d, the Democratic Convention met, 
and nominated General Bartlett for Lieutenant- 
governor with great enthusiasm and very flatter- 
ing resolutions. This action placed him in a dif- 
ficult position, for it is a very different thing to 
decline the nomination of a convention which has 
assembled, acted, and dissolved, from what it is to 
decline, beforehand, to accept a nomination. In 
much perplexity, — urged by valued friends to take 
the nomination and to decline it, assured by the 
general voice of the newspapers of the day that 
his name would give great strength to the ticket, 
— unable, as all men were that autumn, to form 
a reasonably confident conjecture as to what the 
action of the Republican Convention (which was 
to assemble the following week) would be, — he 
determined to keep his own counsel till he should 
receive oliicial notice of his nomination, hoping 
that in the time thus gained the Republican Con- 
vention might meet, and by its action clear the 
so that he might wisely shape his own course. 
There was one candidate who was said to have 



WILLIAM I l.i i T 

\\ ing the Republican norni 

1 i !i, w li"iii i 

.M p. Adams I. Ii i he Republicans 

Bhould Dominate either of these tv. 
would be clear. 
( hi tlif 28th of September, he went to W 
ton, in compliance with a i \\ hich 

red by telegraph, and there Learned thai 
of the mo8i powerful managers of the Republi- 
can party in Massachusetts desired him to * 
the Republican nomination i'm- (iovernor. Th 
was much chance <>f his receiving the nomination 
ii' he permitted his name to 1"- used, and if 
were nominated he was reasonably certain of be- 
ing elected. How he received the offer may I 
be told in his <>wn words. In his journal of the 
Bami iif writes : — 

I w idfully disturbed, bat it Beem< 

would look very dirty to go back on the Dei 
after what, they had done, and accept a 1. 
from tin; Republicans. It would look lik<- Belling my- 
self to ill*- highest bidder. Then it might be used to 
defeat Mr. Adams's Domination. It was a temptab' 
but I decided, after much prayerful thought, that, under 
the circumstances, I ought to decline, and W. bo tel- 

sphed to Worcester, Was any man ever placed in 
Buch a po ition befbr l me home I ror- 

ried greatly. 

Three <.la; >r, he wrote the following let- 

: — 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 277 

Richmond, Va., October 1, 1875. 

What would I not give for an hour's talk with you. 
I never needed the advice and support of a real friend 
as I have for the past ten days. In the first place, I 
offered, just as I was leaving Pittsfield, and urged 
strongly to accept, the nomination of Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor at the approaching Democratic Convention. I 
considered the matter carefully, and decided that while 
there was a chance of "Mr. Adams being nominated by 
the Republicans, I could not run the risk of being on the 
opposite ticket: but I admitted that if Loring succeeded 
in capturing the nomination, I would be willing to serve 
for the sake of smashing him. Of this course I had 
no doubt. I therefore wrote and telegraphed from New 
York, September 18th, four days before the convention, 
that I was compelled to decline the honor. The next 
thing, I saw to my surprise that they had nominated me 
in a very handsome and enthusiastic manner, recognizing 
the fact that I am not a Democrat, and that they thrust 
the honor upon me. (In short, they were willing to 
take the risk of my declining, in the hope that Loring 
would be nominated, or some man whom I could not 
support.) I determined to aw T ait the result of the Re- 
publican Convention, as I had no official notice of my 
nomination, and could not decline again till I had. 

If Adams had been nominated, my course was plain, 
— withdraw at once on being notified. This would 
have beeu expected by the Democrats and acquiesced 
in. If Loring had been nominated my course was 
equally plain, — accept the nomination. As Rice has 
DeeD Dominated, I am in doubt. My withdrawal now 
will not be expected by the Democrats, and will nc 



WILLIAM 

doul jure 

Lheir p [ may 1 

• look upon the with tli- 

von ] 

ibility or pecunia ird ; but t! 

which my friends put apoo m\ abili Ls is 

bo hi; r than I know to >ul<l 

much rather take an office that I could iill with h< 
than be honored b; iill with Bai 

faction to myself or my fi 

The office would give me no trouble or anxi 
would give me an insight into public life that w< 
valuable if I ever expect to (ill s mor< 
tion. 

It would gi of withdraw 

from the grinding anxiety of thii work I : tie 

the question of continuing a residence hei tiia fux- 

ould not have any salary from it. Winn 
the West Stockbri will 1 

Bmall, I Bhould think, if any. that I Bhould feel justified 
in taking. Yon Bee this office (if elected) won 
me something to live on in Pittsfield in a quii 
while I Bhould be in a better position t<> find e 
remunerative work to do. The idea of rum 
office is, I conf ful to m 

tate bis fortune and pr< 

A a matter of principle, there is no 
the two parti( s. The platforms are th I 

to me that by strengthening the hard moi 
aits, we may help them overthrow tl tern lum 

which ;' rule th<- country. I have a very ur- 

I letter from Judge Abbott, in which I will 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 279 

bear him witness that previously, when they have offered 
me the nomination for Governor, although for the Bake 
of his party he would have liked it, he did not urge me, 
and agreed with me that it was better for me to decline; 
now, he says, the thing is entirely changed, and he has 
given the subject the careful thought that he would if it 
were his own son, and he urges me as he would Henry 
under similar circumstances. He says that it will make 
me Governor next year, or put me on the national ticket 
as Vice-president. 

(I don't want to be Governor, and the other is almost 
as likely to happen as I am to be struck by lightning, 
but not quite.) They do not influence me. But will 
the offence that my withdrawal will certainly give to a 
large body of my fellow-citizens (although I am blaine- 
:i the matter), injure me i tore than my acceptance 
of the place will with another body of my fellow-cit- 
izens ? If I have character and reputation enough to 
be thought worthy of a higher place, cannot that char- 
acter sustain the shock of my taking and filling a lower 
one? 

I write down these thoughts as they have come up in 
my mind, not clearly, perhaps, or in order, but to show 
you some of the motives that must govern me. I want 
to do what is right in the matter, and what, in the end, 
will be best for me. 

Do you think I would be elected if I ran? Do you 
believe I could be elected even if Gaston were not? 
/should not do any work for myself or the ticket. 

If you have no particle of doubt as to what is best for 
me personally, without looking at it as a Republican or 
a Democrat, telegraph me Monday, for I must reply at 
once on receipt of their notification, if I decline. 



Ml 1/ 

. write i 'villi tii 

i... and please don't 
I than you can help by this infliction. 

1 W. I". 1-. 

this hastily writtei thi~, 

u inclined to tell yon in an- 

other thing that has helped to perplex :in<l disturb 
this I - Bummoned to Washington by I 

graph Tuesday, .hhI there it was proposed 
authority thai I Bhould allow my name to be brought 
before the Republican Convention for G 
the first or second ballot, with prop and 

be carried by acclamation. This from the higl 
authority. I was d for a minute, but it 

to me bo much like a bribe, and that it would h 
appearance of Belling myself to the I 
holding the Democratic nomination till J -aw what 
Republicans would do, that I declined, and a pn 
ranged telegram in cipher was Bent to Wbi that 

it. before the convention. 

tin t fear I had was, that my name might !»• 
to head off Mr. Adams in the conventio 
that these people, though they, in their distr< ss, would, 
i last resort, turn to Adams, would much rather 1 

me if that would Batisfj the clamor | 1 

bo unapproachable, I Buppo 

. Prank, think of the triumph that filled my 
secret heart when the Republican party man 
to me (three years after L872, when I predicted what 
has come to them, and urged them to come up I 
> — came to me, and begged me to go on their ticket to 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 281 

save Massachusetts to the Republican party! Do you 
wouder that I was disturbed? Don't you agree with 
me, that it would have appeared mean, and black, al- 
though it could be proved that it was not? Still one 
wouldn't like to be tried for theft or adultery even 
though he were sure of acquittal. Only you and four 
other men and Agnes know this, so mum ! unless you 
hear it from other sources. Yours, F. 

Mr. Rice was nominated, and his most trusted 
friends advised him to decline the Democratic 
nomination. He accordingly did so, on the 8th 
of October, upon receipt of formal notice of the 
action of the convention, in a letter which was 
warmly commended. In it he said : — 

" I appreciate and applaud the spirit evinced by your 
convention in its willingness to subordinate party names 
to the public good; but having no desire for political 
office, I cannot persuade myself that any public interest 
demands, at this time, the sacrifice of my personal wishes. 
If the time for such sacrifice comes, I shall be ready to 
make it, whether it be with the Democratic party or the 
Republican party (or, better still, the honest half of both), 
so it shall be the party which the near future impera- 
tively calls for to lead the way of true reform, pure ad- 
ministration and intelligent progress. A party which 
shall neither be obliged to content itself with the r< 
of its past achievements, nor atone for its past mistakes." 

Before the time arrived for him to receive the 
qffer of any other place of trust or dignity, his 



i!lli h; n-d th 

in 

i. li«- had 
ml to drop « kind, and 

arrest bis downward and al 

mind. In his reply, held I 
mature consideration, he v : — 

Pi 
In regard t<» business, I ki that 

somebody takes your place when j . <ur 

track-,*' bat you will admit th< 

a man's duty to fall in hi her thai 

under fire. It Looks as if the furnace at B old 

Dot go od much longer. I ran save it. and th< 
have left the whole thing to my care, from the total 
which would ensue if] were I Ion it at this 

I hope to put it in Buch a condition th \ not 1 

to be there much, and I and 

worry. 

The furnace here will Btop Nbvemb I my 

responsibility here is Bhared by others and d 

Ifully. < )i' . with both I - 

oaces Btopped, I shall be out of work, and I mm 
for something to do that will give me something lik 
Bupporl for my family. I know that you wil 
watch for anything that might by chance turn up th 
There are very few things that I am tit 
but I am tired of this > nn g :lt manufacturing, and 

rushing about the land, and would lie glad of work that 
would keep me quietly in an office. 

The future i very bright, but 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTIETT. 283 

bound to me such a friendship as yours, makes the pres- 
ent seem more full of happiness than I thought it pos- 
sible. 

I am actually feeling better. I have been resting, 
bodily, if not mentally, for more than a month, and since 
I came back from Boston I have gained two pounds, 
which has much encouraged me. I mean to think of 
my health first, in all my movements for the next few 
months, and will let you know my plans as soon as any 
are formed. Ever yours, Frank Bartlett. 

Early in 1876, he decided to go to Europe for 
a few months, but he was delayed a good deal by 
a severe illness, which seized him in New York 
while he was on his way to Richmond to put the 
Powhatan property there in such condition that 
he might feel at liberty to leave it. The follow- 
ing letters were written before he sailed. 

N. Y. Hotel, January 20. 
.... I have been detained here a week, not well 

enough to go on to Richmond The Tredegar 

failure probably puts us kors du combat. I am not very 
depressed. I made up my mind to the worst two years 
ago, and have been so near the bottom ever since that I 
had n't far to fall. 

Richmond, Va., Feh-uary 5, 1876. 
.... My doctor in New York, Stimpson, says just 
what Paddock and the others have said, that I have no 
organic disease that will kill me if I stop now But my 
nerve force is exhaush d, and 1 have used my strength 
faster thau I have made it. Complete rest and change 



J- I Ml VOIR OF WILLIAM 

will d health, and with t): 

the other troubles will diaap] i 
and I hope it is so. There have been tin 
• month, when I should nol li 

. hat little of lit :..ust 

not l»e Bpent away from home. I am hat 

better ami Btronger, ami now look hopefull 

abl( away <»!i tin- . M ITCh 1 •' I 

find things here about as bad a- )•<• 

have reduced our number and amount of 

much rince last August, when it seemed a- if we d 

Btop. The failure of the \ ir throws their paper 

on to n>. ami on to me individually, as tip- banks would 

not discount without two Dames, and I have had to do 

this thing for two years to carry tl 

posing, of . that this depression in busim 

ruinous prices were temporary and not I 

I have the bonds of the company my in- 

dor - and loans, and if the hank- and 

itors look at the matter Bensibly, and 

their chance with me, who am, in 

itor, they will eventually get all their money. I h 

succeeded in paying off all the hands and emj and 

small creditors, who could n't afford 1 t, and 

on Monday the company will suspend payment I 

ir had not failed, I think \ 

through, but I Bhould have had to pulling, and I 

am not in condition to do it. I am tak 

calmly now. I think 1 went all through the fit 

'.Wo ami ha\ king it 

in the t 

If 1 only felt as strong and well. I lid three 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 285 

0, I should not mind it so much, for I could get 
some work to do, or some position that would give me a 
living; but now I must follow your advice — stop work 
— get my health and Btrength again first, and then trust 
to finding work to do when I come back. If I do not 
get well and tit for work speedily, why the sooner I am 

quietly "planted," the better 

Ever yours, Frank Bartlett. 

Richmond, Va., February 14, 1876. 

.... Jersey seems to promise a good deal 

T think a month there will pick me up. I shall be gov- 
erned by how I am when I get over, if I get over. If 
I don't, I '11 try to keep above water till you get back, 
dear old man, to take you by the hand 

Pittsfield, February 24, 1876. 
.... I am better since I left Richmond and dropped 

the oar Some days, though, I certainly do feel a 

little shaky about going. It is such an irrevocable step 
after that ship leaves the dock. But we must hope for 
the best, and it seems the only thing for me to do, so I 
hope to give you good news of myself about the 15th 
of March 

He sailed from New York for Liverpool on the 
1st of March. He was unfortunate in having 
an unusually rough and stormy voyage, and the 
spring in Europe was very cold and raw. He 
Bailed from Liverpool on the 27th of May, and 
arrived in New York on the 7th of June. His 
trip did not do him the good that had been hoped. 



1 1' 

nderfu] 

him. 

com plain in 
i cheerful, Imt he was general] le and 

rtion of every kind. 1 1 
i often dropped asleep by d 
exhaustion. The following Lett iffi- 

:i descr of bis experiences : — 

I received your letter fron at the 

Livi I v. -1 ten daya after landing fro: 

ugh pac 
liti- offi< :. and so m tly that 

I c 'iiM not It mi deck at all. S 1 really did not ; 
up :i> much from tin- voyage a- I had ho -1". but 

rapb A, 
p. m., that notwithstanding a beastly | 
it very well, ami was better. This all went : . 
under a code I wrote out before leaving. Since I lam 
the weather baa been Bimply atrocious. I illy 

try day until to-day, and I would n< 
that it won't yet, though tin- Bun is tryi 
I envy yon Rome, and I Bhould hav( on 

to the Dearest warm Bpot had I 1 1 « » t felt tl 

M dies'. I came down here th< 

sh:i Inn to-morrow ami start the 

first of tli>- week. I am certainly better in Bome thi 
I urn lift- from thai dreadful pain in my I 
had tortured me for two ..r three month-, and tl 
me sleep u' bo that I am doii 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 287 

that I have breakfast in bed, and doze on until nearly 
noon before turning out My appetite is decidedly 
better, for I do not loathe the sight of food as I did for 
weeks: indeed, I believe I am really glad when meals 
are announced. I give you all these details at the risk of 
beimr tiresome. I wish I could add that I am feeling: 
stronger than when 1 left home, but I suppose I must 
not expect too much in so short a time. I will write you 
from Jersey when I get settled. I have n't felt up to 
writing any one lately. Let me hear when you have a 
spare ten minutes. 

Ever yours, Frank B. 

Hotel de la Pomme d'Or, St. IIeliers, 
Jersey, April 2, 1876. 

This is only a line to say that I got here safely and 
am inclined to think I shall like the place. The weather 
has not let me out till within a day or two. I am about 
the same as when I wrote to you. My chief motive for 
writing you thus hastily is, to urge your not staying in 
Rome. I find myself worrying about you all the time. 
It has been deadly this year, and much is concealed. I 
am demoralized about Rome, after seeing two men in 
London who have been there most of the winter. Don't 
go out and get all tired out sight-seeing and go without 
lunch and stand in cold churches and galleries and do 
other imprudent things, which the natives and the long 
residents there don't do. And come away from there 
quam primum to Florence, or Venice, or anywhere. 

Hastily, but seriously and earnestly, 

Your loving Frank. 



2SS M Will. I A If . 

brown rudely on th- 
nUainou thai roll b md I 1 

rowed oever to the ( Ihannel again till the tunnel is 

finished. It v. old, and 

■ m northeast, I Bhould Bay, and v. simply 

rolled over and ly w-t through. I >ou'l 

I. a, or don't you, wear anything that salt v ill hurt 

My beautiful new pea-jacket looks as if it had been in a 
Hour barrel, d with salt The cabin was full and 

close and foul, everybody sick. I tried to 1"'. but <li<ln't 
succeed, eicepl in teeling like death, and \\;i- m< 
than alive when I crawled up tl 

If it is at all bad <>r windy weather, I Ivise you by 
all means to go by Calais, as tin- bo and 

more comfortable, and I didn't find th. g up at 

that hour a bit of trouble. The sun: and 

th-- morning air Bweel and _• Charl< 

kindly helped me off and and 

much trouble. I made close com I 

tion and caughl George's train, and was L r ht^ h to 

out of my (lamp Ball clothes, after reachii 
half an hour before dinner. 

I slept well, and feel to-day only as if I had been on a 
bad Bpree, and :i> if I had a left foot which 
wa< knifing. I suppose it com--; from i 
and I don't believe it will stay long. Bright and cold to- 
day; real good winter weather ou I 
for there isn't a thermometer in the that stands 

over 50° . . . . 

With loads ofli All W. 1'". B, 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 289 

Journal, June 7, 1876. At the dock this mornin-r 
early. Beautiful day. An American day, and thank 

God I am safely back here again I am so glad 

to be at home again. There is no place on earth like it, 
and I thank God for bringing me through dangers seen 
and unseen. 

His life was prolonged for a little more than six 
months after his arrival in America, bat his 
course was steadily downward. He never after- 
wards seemed so strong as on the day when he 
left the ship. His decline was not without some 
of those periods of apparent improvement which 
are common to consumptive patients, and he 
sometimes seemed at least to be encouraged, and 
to hope for something approaching permanent 
improvement, but from time to time he fell away 
in a marked manner, and the rally which followed 
was never sufficient to bring him back to the 
point which he had left. He wrote at first such 
hopeful and cheerful letters as the two which fol- 
low, but the next one shows his growing weak- 
ness. His longed-for visit to Cohasset was post- 
poned at first, and then given up. After the 
latter part of July he seldom, if ever, wrote a 
letter, and his journeyings were limited to short 
drives, and they too, soon ceased. 

Pittsfield, June 14, 1876. 

This is the first moment I have had pen in hand since 
I saw you, and I naturally send you the first word. I 
19 



H£M( WILLIAM 

found myself pretty well tired tin 

and have I. 

linoe Saturday last I dare lay it \\a> the sud 

change of temperature, or the fatigue and r< . l»ut 

now I am much better, and really fi 

day under this I onshine and luxuriant folia| 

Oh, Frank, wasn't the country more lovely than 
: saw it, that afternoon as yon got out 
I went up by tli<- Housatonic, and i 
bind one r hills, and after an hour <>r two a 
perb moon burst out from behind an i 
I thought that those Englishmen who landed with 
must fancy this a land of enchantment 

But, dear Frank, it is lovely to L r <t home and enjoy 
the lovely sunshine filtered thro' the elms. We -it on 
the piazza constantly, and I fancy that you enjoj 
more than ever before 

] )r. Paddock thinks I am i r than \ 

I went away, and he h me only in my played-out 

condition of the last week. To-day I am more li 
than any day since we landed (hi has cot e 
for two 'lavs), and feel perfectly confident now of going 
on gaining. The country never looked half bo h>\ 

•• Every prospect pleases and only man is vile," l 
tear w<- shall hear from Cincinnati to-morrow. 

J have not had a business letter, and Bhould not have 
opened it it" I had. The break from that worry 
plete .-till, and I don't mean to take it uj> till I am m 
better able to. Meantime, keep your eara open for some 
situation for a sober and industrious young man D 
fa'l ; no objection on account of large salary and little 

rk. Alw i) - 3 our th.-\ oted 

1'kank. 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 291 

Pittsfield, June 26, 1876. 

.... I have your kind letter, dear , and I 

need n't say how I appreciate your efforts to put me in 
the way of work, nor how eagerly I look for something 
to do that shall help me keep the wolf from the door. 
I am gaining under the lovely June skies, and am look- 
ing forward to going down to Cohasset about the ICth 
July. Lovingly yours, 

Frank. 

Pittsfield, July 17, 1876. 

I am going on about the same, one day up, the next 
down. As soon as I am well enough, I am going down 
to Cohasset. I think the cough is decidedly better ; 
appetite seems to be the main thing wanting now. I 
think if I could see something ahead for me to do, it 
would be an incentive and encouragement. And I have 
reached that point in thinking about myself that the 
man had who admitted that he did wish his wife would 
either get well, or, or — something. You will be sur- 
prised to hear we are about moving back into our own 
house. It was too late in the season when I came home, 
I suppose, for I have not been able to rent it, and it 
seems better that we should occupy it than have it stand 
vacant. It will be cooler, and, in all ways, more com- 
fortable than this house, and not necessarily more ex- 
pensive to run. Still, if I could rent it for a term of 
years, at a fair price, I should do so, and take a more 
humble dwelling. 

It is n't going to be a very serious task to move, as 
everything is in a small space here, and there is no fur- 
niture to move. Ever yours, Frank. 



WILLIAM FRANi 

The follow Lng extracts From b lei 

rtlett, dated August 29, I 57< ndi« 

tion at that time, the activity of hia mind, i 
the Interest which he continued I in pul 

affairs. 

Prank baa ■ better appetite than for a good while, 
ami Uvea on birds, principally woodcock, of which be 
managea one for hia dinner, with . irlj 

r y day. Hia digestion Beema to be imp and 

ilow though perceptible gain made each day. Frank 
taking the electric hatha, and they seem 
him. He <li<l not suppose you would believe 1 1 1 « - report 
of that interview in the u Post," to be correct He had 
no idea that a verbatim report waa int 
man took do notes, and Frank ted him 

read** him, and he Buppoaed that he would merely 
announce what he did tell him, in general terms, that be 
waa earnestly in favor of Tilden'c >n. He fai 

however, to Btate what Frank particularly told him, that 
he waa a Btrong Brbtow man, and Bhouldhave suppoi 
him with enthusiasm, had he not heen lxaten at Cincin- 
nati by the men who control the Republican pa 
whom be hopea to Bee deposed this fall. Frank felt 
much annoyed by it, but believed that those fri< 
whose opinion he valued most would take th< 
view Of it that you did. 

By the 10th of September, he ws most 

of his time in bed, but dressed and sitting up in 
the afternoon. The sweet, serious i ion of 

iiis face was anehanged, his voice was firm, and 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 293 

the grasp of his hand strong, but his breathing 
was audible and rather quick, and his face and 
throat were pitifully thin. 

On the 24th of the same month, a daughter 
was born to him. She was named Edith, after 
the lost sister whom he so tenderly mourned. 

For the rest of his life he was simply waiting. 
His sufferings were very great, but they were borne 
with absolute fortitude and sweetness. The pow- 
ers of his mind remained unimpaired to the last, 
and his cheerful playfulness did not desert him. 
On the Gth of November he proposed to have his 
little daughter christened, and in sending to invite 
a valued friend to be present, he asked that it be 
suggested to him (election day coining just then, 
and the friend being an anti-Tilden man) that 
they could "pair off;" that if his friend Avould 
not vote, he would not. 

The christening took place in his room on the 
appointed day, and after that he partook of the 
communion. In all these days, as his strength 
permitted, he talked freely and unreservedly with 
his beloved wife about the future, and told her 
what he wished done about many things. Hard 
as all this was, he told his wife that it would be an 
inexpressible comfort to her afterwards, and she 
and firm enough to go through with it. 
He told her that if he should be spared, and if 
strength should be given him again, no harm was 
Jor.o that they had talked of his going, and that 



MEMOIR OF WILLI A M . 

if he went Boon, he he would u. •. 

what then seeme ry hard to 

In the last month of bia life thei 
;ilw rards night Bome exhausting turn, and 

Ilia evenings were lull of w Hi and 

ankle began to swell, and such Bymptoms de- 
stroyed any hope, it' Buch there were in any heart, 
of any real improvement. Feeble and • 
as he was, his mind was actively occupied, and 
:i minute details received his careful attention. 
He had directed that he should be buried in his 
uniform of a Major-general, and In- wis) 
leave to hia three Bons and his most valued friend 
tin- four Bilver stars which he wore upon bis 
shoulders; and he caused to be procured four si 
of like appearance to take their place upon his 

Uniform, when it should be placed upon him. 

t<» be taken off again. 

There is no need of describing Ids sufferi 
moiv fully. They were very great and ver) vari- 
ous, I'm Buch relief ;i< the most tender care could 
yield was no! wanting. He had tin untiring de- 
votion of his wife from the time when la-: 
ery from her confinement math- it possible for ' 
t.> resume her place at his bedside, and all through 
the period of her separation from him. and to the 

i. he had the added happiness of having his 
mother with him. The wise and watchful nursing 
A these two admirable women was an unspeaka 

g to him, anil their Btl'O] 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRAN0I8 B ART LETT. 2 

control united with his grand endurance to make 
the sick- room always a cheerful place. Death 
from consumption is a long and sore trial, which 
many loving hearts have had to watch with pity. 
In his case, the burden was made heavier by the 
physical pain which followed the loss of his leg, 
and by the distress of mind which flowed from his 
misfortunes in business. All his efforts had been 
unsuccessful. All that he had. and more, had 
been swept away, and he had to face the prospect 
of leaving his wife and his six children utterly 
unprovided for. Fortunately, these facts became 
known in time to enable his friends to relieve 
his worst anxieties, and nearly three weeks be- 
fore he died he knew that a modest subsistence 
was secured to his family. This knowledge eased 
and lightened his heart, and, as he said, made it 
much easier for him to go. 

From the 10th of December the change was 
more rapid ; but, though his weakness was great, 
he was in many respects more comfortable. < )n 
Sunday, the 17th of December, 1876, he called 
his family and nearest friends around him, spoke 
words of comfort and encouragement and farewell 
to them all, and then passed peacefully away. 

( )n Wednesday, December 20th, the coffin con- 
taining the body of the General, dressed in his 
uniform, was borne from his house to the hearse, 
and from the hearse to the church, by six of his 
comrades in the war. The quiet of the town and 



; MEMi WILLIAM 

the throng in the church bore testimony to tlj<* 

neral Ben3e of lose, After tin- burial 
had been read, one of the officiating clergymen 
came down to the Bide of the bier, and paid a 
touching and feeling tribute to the worth of the 
departed as a man and as a ( Shrisl ian. .1 usl 
the -mi of a cold, bright, still winter day v 
ting, he was lowered into the grave made for him 
in the Pittsfield Cemetery, :in<l left to his res! in 
thr pure Bilence of the bdow. 

"The Massachusetts of this generation has bred 
no bo heroic a character as thai of the man whom 
Bhe will bury, with Badness and with honor, in 
Berkshire, this week." These are und< d to 
have been the words of a man now no m< 
who knew Genera] Bartlett well, and who had in 
his day few equals in judging of character. It 
is hoped thai the Btory of a life has been bo told 
in the foregoing pages, that the judgment of I 
reader will confirm this high estimate 

The qualities which first attracted attention 
to the subject of t\\\< memoir, were bravery and 
judgment. Bravery is always :i fascinating qual- 
ity ; but, fortunately for mankind, it is nol n 
[n his first engagement, Bartletl Bhowed not only 
courage, but coolness and nerve, and it was per- 
ceived thai there was an <>M head upon the young 
shoulders of the gallant Boldier. A> the war went 
on, those who were near him recognized ii him 
the clear faculties and absolute ink 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 297 

rity, as well as brilliant bravery and a mind that 
remained equal in the midst of difficulties, while 
those who perhaps never saw him were struck 
with admiration at beholding the tenacity of pur- 
pose with which he went back to the field after 
so many enforced absences. After the return of 
peace, his neighbors were charmed with the vir- 
tues and graces of his private life, and had con- 
stant proofs that the accomplished soldier was a 
citizen of great and growing usefulness. His in- 
terest in what is most valuable to every commu- 
nity, in religion, in education, in the elevation of 
polities, in true reform, was always fresh. What- 
ever his sufferings or his weariness might be, 
whatever the demands of business or the anxieties 
of narrowing means, he was always ready to lend 
a helping hand to every cause which his clear 
eyes saw to be a good one. As the years of his 
life drew near their end, his sudden eloquence 
thrilled many listeners, and thousands of hearts, 
North as well as South, w r ere touched at the spec- 
tacle presented by the crippled hero, the first to 
counsel reconciliation with those whose arms had 
shattered the promise of his life. His patriot- 
ism was true patriotism. His love of country 
embraced the whole country. His absolute devo- 
tion to the flag made him eager that every Amer- 
ican should love and honor that flag as he did. 

The impression which General Bartlett ' made 
upon those who knew him only by reputation, 



117/ 1.1A M 

deepened in those whosaw him, by the rich 
gifta of nai are. 1 1 Lb figure w . and 

i, his head Bmall and well Bet, hi 
hia features well eu< and full of character, his 
carri ospicuoas by i and d 

There was aboul him altogether b tely 

air which the New England men of thi 

hardly Been equaled. A Bhai ni- 

ne and d was natural t<> him, but 

manners ■ >urteous and his smile 

His voice was deep, full-toned, and powerful. He 
was a born Leader of the best men, and In- I 

ge endowments for controlling the worst, 
fatality which attended hi- military career, — he 
never went into action 1mm tthoul 

abled, — deprived him of the opportunity of ah 
Lng what be could do in the exercise of a 1- 
command, bul he proved himself t<> be noi on] 
most gallant, but a most useful soldier. He 
, successful in establishing discipline, impi 
Lng drill, developing ami maintaining tun.', and 
by doing thoroughly well whatever was 
him t<» <1<>. he gave the I turance possible that 

if the fortune of war had been l>nt commonly 
favorable t<» him, he would have been found equal 
to the high places of command. The men who 
Fed under him feel ami say that the memory 
of his In poic character is apt t<> make them betl 
men, and that their love for him and I < »i l 

him We iplete. The chaplain of hi- I 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 299 

regiment, an excellent and accomplished clergy- 
man, speaks lovingly of his gentle modesty, of 
his grave dignity, of his magnetism as a leader, 
of his kindness and his inflexible justice, and 
adds the interesting fact that this intrepid man 
never went into action without a certain presenti 
ment of extreme suffering or death. 

Wherever he went he was observed. Wher 
ever he was known he was admired and loved. 
His life was a blessing to those among whom he 
lived. One of the last letters he received con- 
tained this tribute to his usefulness : ki Some men 
do their best life-work in the influences of nobler 
manhood that go forth from them, — the vague, 
unrealizable, but most potent of all Avorks. How 
many are truer and better men for your influ- 
ence, my dear friend, you may not know. Your 
life is already in many another man." 

While he laid hold of the enthusiasm of the 
educated and refined, he had equal success in en- 
gaging the affections and winning the respect of 
the rough foundry men in his employ. His strict 
discipline did not alienate them. His will was law 
to them, but they found him sympathetic, prompt 
to visit their homes when they were sick or in 
trouble, and ready to help them according to his 
means. As his trusted foreman said, "his great 
\ieart could take in the lowly." 

Of his domestic character it is not necessary 
to add to the showing of his letters and journals. 



WILLIAM FRA I L. 

In his friendships, when his friendship 
he was \w^\^ Like a lover than a friend. To th< 
who Kin'w him thoroughly, hia Life filled a \>. 
and hia death Left a raid Bnch as are noi Likely to 
l e paralleled in a Bingle human 

\ early as 1 x, '» I. al the Bword | d at 

Wmtbrop, Governor Andrew pronounced him 
the must conspicuous Boldier o! Massa husetts in 
the Department ol the < iulf. When tl 
ended, he was the most conspicuous soldier of ;tll 
whom Massachn lent to the field. In 

years which followed, his career was bo useful and 
so brillianl good reason I 

that, had his life been Bpared,the most conspicuous 
soldier of Massachusetts would 1 e of 

the most honoivd and beloved of her sons. 



APPENDIX. 



Of the following tributes to the memory of Genera] 
Bartlett, the first is understood to have been written by 
the late Mr. Bowles. It appeared in the " Springfield 
Republican : " — 

GENERAL BARTLETT. 

The recognition by the press of the heroic character- 
istics of General Bartlett is quick and wide. We have 
dwelt upon his qualities and his services, his opinions 
and his acts, not only as an act of justice, but in the 
belief that they furnish a greatly needed example, and 
in the hope that from his grave there might go new and 
richer influences, so that even dead he will yet Bpeak 
with more potent eloquence than ever. It is not given 
to many men to have his simple, quick perception of the 
kernel truth, or his equally simple and natural way of 
Bpeaking and acting it. It never seemed to cost him 
anything to think rightly, or to speak and act what he 
thought; it did itself, as it were; not only without hes- 
itation or fear of the consequences, but without the rec- 
ognition that there were any consequences that should 
be considered. Few men are, indeed, so wonderfully 



WILLIAM 

end nt all of ii 

< , I oi I nth. I" '>• m a con ipicuoua life thai h<- 1; 

hia fell* ■ > 

impressive in it- features, or furnishii 
ample, na in thii 

it was lived without hia thought of i 

i himself. And if he can live again in 
ani in the livea and chara f his oomra 

and bui . of the young nun who knew him 

have read his Btory and fell its inspiration, tfa 

i will be again the Living hero, and tl 
life will take on at once its true immortal] 



WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 

Oh, well ma; ' forlorn 

Beside her sea-blown Bhoi 

well beloved, her noblest born 
Is hers in life no more ! 

! irly from the mothi 

Her favored child went forth, 
Her pride bo amply justified 
a hero's birth. 

No lapse of years can render 1 
I [er nu in- Bred claim ; 

No fountain of forgetfulness 

Can wet the lipfl pf fa 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETi'. 303 

A grief alike to wound and heal, 

A thought to soothe and pain, 
The sad, sweet pride that mothers feel 

To her must still remain. 

Good men and true she has not lacked, 

And brave men yet shall be ; 
The perfect flower, the crowning fact, 

Of all her years was he ! 

As Galahad pure, as Merlin sage, 
What worthier knight was found 

To grace in Arthur's golden age 
The fabled Table Round ? 

A voice, the battle's trumpet-note, 

To welcome and restore ; 
A hand, that all unwilling smote, 

To heal and build once more! 

A soul of fire, a tender heart 

Too warm for hate, he knew 
The generous victor's graceful part, 

To sheathe the sword he drew. 

The more than Sidney of our day, 

Above the sin and wrong 
Of civil strife, he heard alway 

The angels' Advent song ! 

When Earth, as if on evil dreams, 
Looks back upon her wars, 



, MI Aft WILLIAM I 

A i the \\ liiif Ugh I 

. 

I ! fame who led the stormy van 

battle well 
Bui never thai \\ hich c man 

Whose victory n I ' 

Mouri .1 t-blown Bhore 

Thy beautiful and bra 
Whose failing band the olive 

Whose <1\ ing 1. 

!. ■ re] ithful ( 

And tendei im ; 

irs are more of joy th i 
That fall for one like hi;, 

Joint ' if Will 



MILITARY ORDER, LOYAL LEGU »N. I'M ri:;> s r.\ ] 

c < >m man l'l.i: v ci' tin: BTAT1 "i KASSACHUSl 

Tiar.r i i mi HOST OF CQMPA] 

wiLi.iAM r. B \ki i.i 1 r. r. 

pted a' ■ < immandery, held 

on Wednesday, February 7. 1877. 

M Our l i impanion William Francis Bai I 

M j ._■ i pal (J. S. Volunl I Pitts- 

field on the D 



MEMOIR or WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT. 305 

•• It is among the objects of our order to cherish the 
memories and associations of the war waged in defense 
of* the Unity and Indivisibility of the Republic, to en- 
force unqualified allegiance to the General Government, 

and to maintain National Honor, Union, and Independ- 
ence. 

M We recognize in our late Companion one who was 
foremost among the men of Massachusetts, both in war 
and in peace, in supporting the Government and in 
maintaining National Honor, Union, and Independence. 

" We contemplate with pride his brilliant military 
]•, which entailed heavy sacrifices and sufferings 
.ipon himself, but did not end till the war ended. Im- 
prisonment, illness, and repeated wounds were alike 
powerless to shake the absolute tenacity of purpose with 
which he followed and upheld the Flag. From the 
commencement of hostilities to the close, whenever his 
physical condition would permit, he was always at the 
front. 

" From the humble position of a private in a militia 
organization he rose to be a Division Commander. 
Wherever he went, he enforced discipline, diffused the 
soldierly spirit, cared thoughtfully and wisely for his 
men, led them with conspicuous gallantry, shared all 
their privations, and thought always first of their welfare 
and of tin; welfare of his country. At Ball's Bluff, in 
the Peninsular campaign, at the siege of Port Hudson, 
in the Wilderness, and at the siege of Petersburg, his 
record was that of perfect soldierly faithfulness ; our 
enemies admired him, as well as his comrades and the 
great Northern people for whom he fought so well. 
Four years of fighting raised him to high rank in the 
20 



SOG MEMOIR OF W(LLIAM FRANCIS BARTLE'i 

army, : 1 1 1 « I won for him a but they left him 

with a shatter) titatioo and ■ crippled fi 

the age of twenty-five. 

-• \\ e contemplate with equal pride and admiratioD the 
civil can er of onr I panion. I 

latioc of his life he showed himself the tru< 
the ( In istian gentleman. ( h • t'ul and 

ing, courteous io his manners, he moved 
man of correct and attractive exampl . N ver alio 
by the frivolous pleasures of life, he divided his time 
l»ttw een thi of busii I his 

home. He was a devott d husband, a tender father, and 
a faithful friend. The burden of pain and weak] 
grew Bteadily heavier as his days went on, bat it n< 

sed him to halt, and seldom to pause in his march. 
The best and highest interests of the community aim 

jted his earnest and active Bympathy, and on- 

tiring in his efforts to promote them. The church, edu- 
cation, and politics, especially political reform, all had a 
Bhare of his faithful service. By attenti 
and patient thought, he freed his mind from theobscu 
influences of the passions of the hour, and can 
tain broad and high views, and bo learned to frame those 
impressive sentences which, first Bpoken in Memorial 

Hall, at once echoed through the hind, and made 

grand voice known to South as well as North, as that 
of one calling to large-hearted union and loyalty. 

"The life of our deceased Companion was so full of 
promise, as well a- of performance, that our gratitude 
for what he did, and for the influence of his exampl* 
mingled with deep regret for our loss of what might 
have been his future. With proud and tend< lie©- 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 307 

tion, we record our testimony to our belief, that he was 
one of the noblest of the soldiers and citizens whom 
Massachusetts has numbered among her sons. 

ki Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon 
our records, and a copy of them sent to the family* of 
our deceased Companion." 



The following words were spoken at General Bart- 
lett's funeral by one who had known him well in his 
earlier days, and who had been permitted during the last 
months of his life to receive his most sacred confidences. 

They refer chiefly to one subject, upon which, in his 
letters, he has said but little, but which became more 
and more prominent in his thoughts as his life drew 
toward its close. That life's latest chapter was its sub- 
limest ; to those who were nearest him during those last 
days the memory of his faith has seemed as sacred a 
trust as the memory of his deeds, and with this thought 
in view they have wished to see added to the foregoing 
pages this heartfelt testimony uttered at his burial. 

A. L. 

" It is not the custom, as you know, of our church, to 
add to her burial service words of human eulogy or 
human judgment. It is our wont to read, over the mor- 
tal bodies of the rich and poor, the lowly and the great 
Alike, the same words of Scripture; to utter the same 
prayers hallowed by centuries of use, and to commend 
;he immortal soul into His presence with whom is no 
respect of persons, and before whom all must appear, 



WILLI FT. 

nlik bed alike with the <es8 

ol ( :r 

and then ■ time when tl 
ib not content to let ;i hero pa 

il ; :iii'l it falls to i. 

nvi : '.! it has i m behalf of those u h 

him, a i' w words (.f tender remembrance. I am not 
hereto eulogize hi- record as a soldier ; thai 
already upon your memories m ply than an; 

mine could print it. I am not h< his 

record as a patriot ; although you well i 
wli.'n the war cloud lifted and around 
twined the olive, no \ ooner raised than 

with no uncertain Bound, in words of '] irth, 

1 will toward men. 1 But my friends, his lit'- had 
►ther m;. and from his sick ro - bed 

tin-re goes out a testimony no less noble, no 1 '. — 

the Lesson of a Christian faith. To this 
mv prii a Christian mini- ami 

tv to you that his life 
quent than in its mid-career. IK- whom you have kn 
soldier in the field, died th 
brisk' ( rreat in his lii-'. ' • in 

his (h;ith. When. laid upon : 
unflinching the pain which racked hi 
when, turning calmly away from th ors 

: upon him, he i them as nothing; wl 

spite of home affection — too tender 
— he calmly yielded to G ill; when, a few si 

fie raised t<> bis lips with a trembling hand 
t lie Bacramental cup, and Ins \ ill unbroki 

with humble penitence the word-. — 



MEMOIR OF WILLIAM FRANCIS BART LETT. 309 

" ' Jesus, Saviour of my soul, 
Let me to thy bosom fly, — 



" ' All my trust on thee is staved, 

All my hope from thee I bring ' — 

I say that he was greater than when that same voice 
rang out across the field of battle or spoke at Lexington. 

"And oh, my friends, with what power do such a life 
and such a record speak to ns of an hereafter! You, 
whose brain has come to teach yon that there is no 
hereafter, no resurrection of the dead, no life of the 
world to come, does your heart rest satisfied with that 
belief as you look upon him who lies here ? Are you 
content with that position? Is this all? Do you mean 
to say that when this gallant frame crumbles again to its 
dust, the soul that has animated it is extinguished, like a 
flame blown out? That that soul's work is over? That 
the only immortality which remains for him is that of 
living in the memory of men who die ? 

" We, who share his faith, can tell you better ; that a 
nobler career has begun for him ; that 

" ' Doubtless unto him is given 

A life that bears immortal fruit, 
In such great offices as suit 
The full-grown energies of heaven.' 

And in this faith we leave him. In this sure and cer- 
tain hope we lay him out of our sight. And we sum up 
the lesson of his life with the words which tbase cold 
lips might utter, could they speak: — 

•••I li iod fight; I have finished my 

course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there remains 
for me a crown of glory, — one which fadeth not away.'" 



Bo- ry 13, 187 

w. Alsof bsquirb: 
Dear Sir, — Having been informed by yon thai 
ea in my Memoir of the late Genera] William I'. 
tlett have Beemed to Mrs. Edwin BartleU and to 
tin of her friends t>» <!<> her injustice, I the 

impression that tin- Genera] never 1 anytl 

from hi- Unci •'•. I desire t<> that if 

in that Memoir arc justly charg ■■• ith 

ich an impression, they n< ed correction, for 
it is within mj knowledge that the I ! • borrov 

largely from his Uncle' Ffcer his death, with bis 

Aunt's consent, and also borrowed from hU Aunt, and 
that these Loans were never repaid. 
Yours truly, 

FRANCIS W. PALFREY. 



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